Resuscitation
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Each year, 200,000 patients undergo an in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), with approximately 15-20% surviving to discharge. Little is known, however, about the long-term prognosis of these patients after discharge. Previous efforts to describe out-of-hospital survival of IHCA patients have been limited by small sample sizes and narrow patient populations ⋯ Survival rates were varied widely with different discharge destinations, and those discharged to home, skilled nursing facilities or to rehabilitation services had survival rates no different than controls. Thus, increased mortality was primarily driven by patients discharged to long-term care or hospice.
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More than two failed intubation attempts and failed endotracheal intubations (ETIs) are associated with severe complications and death. The aim of this review was to determine the number of ETIs a health care provider in training needs to perform to achieve proficiency within two attempts. A systematic search of the literature was conducted covering the time frame of January 1990 through July 2014. ⋯ This review shows that in mostly elective circumstances, at least 50 ETIs with no more than two intubation attempts need to be performed to reach a success rate of at least 90%. However, the evidence is heterogeneous, and the incidence of difficult airways in non-elective settings is up to 20 times higher compared to elective settings. Taking this factor into account, training should include a variety of exposures and should probably exceed 50 ETIs to successfully serve the most vulnerable patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Time to start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the effect of target temperature management at 33°C and 36°C.
The optimal temperature during targeted temperature management (TTM) for comatose patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is unknown. It has been hypothesized that patients with long no-flow times, for example those without bystander CPR would have the most to gain from temperature management at lower temperatures. ⋯ TTM at 33°C compared to 36°C was not associated with an increased probability of a good neurological function for patients with longer no-flow times.
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The frequency of lethal overdose due to prescription and non-prescription drugs is increasing in North America. The aim of this study was to estimate overall and regional variation in incidence and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to overdose across North America. ⋯ Overdose made up 2.4% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, although incidence varied up to 5-fold across regions. Overdose cases were more likely to survive than non-overdose cases.