Resuscitation
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Emergency research is necessary to prevent exposure of patients to unvalidated clinical practice (nonmaleficence), and to improve the dismal prognosis of disorders requiring emergent treatment such as cardiac arrest (beneficence). Regulations that govern clinical research should conform to bioethical principles of respect for nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. Our objectives are to review the evolution of European Union (EU) legislation on emergency research, and to identify potentially remaining problems. ⋯ Legislation related to emergency research in Europe has evolved to increase concordance with bioethical principles so as to increase evidence-based improvements in emergency care.
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Multicenter Study
International variation in policies and practices related to informed consent in acute cardiovascular research: Results from a 44 country survey.
Research in an emergency setting such as that with an acute cardiovascular event is challenging because the window of opportunity to treat may be short and may preclude time to obtain informed consent from the patient or their representative. Some perceive that requiring informed consent in emergency situations has limited improvements in care. Vulnerable populations including minorities or residents of low-income countries are at greatest risk of need for resuscitation. Lack of enrollment of such patients would increase uncertainties in treatment benefit or harm in those at greater risk of need for resuscitation. We sought to assess international variation in policies and procedures related to exception from informed consent (EFIC) or deferred consent for emergency research. ⋯ There is international variation in practices and policies related to consent for emergency research. There is an ongoing need to converge regulations based on the usefulness of multinational emergency research to benefit both affluent and disadvantaged populations.
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To describe survival and causes of death after cardiac arrest (CA) and the life situation of very long term survivors. ⋯ A CA may lead to permanent cognitive impairments and the risk of dementia may be higher because of the injuries sustained during the collapse. However, further studies with more participants are needed to fully determine the risk of cognitive impairment after a CA. Regarding life situation, there was a tendency of lower QoL with lower scores on the cognitive testing. With a new treatment paradigm, there is a need for long term studies regarding this new population.
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More than a third of Ireland's population lives in a rural area, defined as the population residing in all areas outside clusters of 1500 or more inhabitants. This presents a challenge for the provision of effective pre-hospital resuscitation services. In 2012, Ireland became one of three European countries with nationwide Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) register coverage. An OHCA register provides an ability to monitor quality and equity of access to life-saving services in Irish communities. ⋯ There are significant disparities in the incidence of resuscitation attempts in urban and rural areas. There are challenges in the provision of services and subsequent outcomes from OHCA that occur outside of urban areas requiring novel and innovative solutions. An integrated community response system is necessary to improve metrics around OHCA response and outcomes in rural areas.
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Little is known about outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of pregnancy in women receiving CPR in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ Although further studies are needed, CPR in pregnancy is associated with a better prognosis compared to non-pregnant women, with trauma status being a key factor predicting outcome in the pregnant patient.