Resuscitation
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Although international newborn resuscitation guidance has been in force for some time, there are no UK data on current newborn resuscitation practices. ⋯ In the UK, there are many areas of good evidence based DR practice. However, there is marked variation in management, including between units of different designation, suggesting a need to review practice to fulfil new resuscitation guidance, which will have training and resource implications.
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Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have been introduced into at least 60% of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) - equipped Australian hospitals to review deteriorating ward patients. Most studies have assessed their impact on patient outcome and less information exists on team composition or aspects of their calling criteria. ⋯ Our findings imply the likelihood of significant practice variation in relation to RRT composition, staff skill set and activation criteria between hospitals. We recommend improved resourcing of RRTs, training of the team members, and consideration for improved standardisation of calling criteria across institutions.
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Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score have been validated as predictors of death in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study was undertaken to determine whether the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score had good accuracy for predicting mortality in AMI patients, and to compare the discriminatory performance of the 3 risk scores (RSs). ⋯ The SOFA score provides potentially valuable prognostic information on clinical outcome when applied to patients with AMI. Compared with TIMI RS, both SOFA score and GRACE RS provide better discrimination for long-term mortality in patients presenting with AMI.
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The underlying etiology of sudden cardiac death varies with age and is likely to be reflected in type and number of healthcare contacts. We aimed to determine the specific type of healthcare contact shortly before out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) across ages. ⋯ Young OHCA patients are more likely to be in contact with the healthcare services compared with an age and sex matched control population suggestive of traits that make them stand out from the general population.