Resuscitation
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The association between long duration of resuscitation efforts in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and neurologic outcome is unclear and understudied with advancements in post-cardiac arrest care and high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We investigated how downtime, defined as the interval from collapse-to-return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), impacts on neurologic outcome in OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). ⋯ We found that neurologically intact survival can occur at prolonged downtimes and were unable to identify a downtime for which survivability was clearly futile. These data suggest that downtime should not be considered as a factor in determining whether to provide aggressive post-arrest care, especially in patients with young patients or those with an initially shockable rhythm.
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Multicenter Study
An evaluation of three methods of in-hospital cardiac arrest educational debriefing: The cardiopulmonary resuscitation debriefing study.
The use of cardiac arrest educational debriefing has been associated with improvements in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality and patient outcome. The practical challenges associated with delivering some debriefing approaches may not be generalisable to the UK health setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the deliverability and effectiveness of three cardiac arrest debriefing approaches that were tailored to UK working practice. ⋯ The delivery of these cardiac arrest educational debriefing strategies was feasible, but did not have a large effect on CPR quality. This may be attributable to the high-quality of CPR being delivered in study hospitals at baseline.
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Multicenter Study
Acute respiratory compromise on inpatient wards in the United States: Incidence, outcomes, and factors associated with in-hospital mortality.
To estimate the United States' incidence and in-hospital mortality of acute respiratory events on inpatient wards and to identify factors associated with mortality. ⋯ Acute respiratory events on inpatient wards in the US is common with an associated in-hospital mortality of approximately 40% that has been decreasing over the past decade. Multiple factors were associated with in-hospital mortality.
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Airway management in the out-of-hospital emergency setting is challenging. Failed and even prolonged airway management is associated with serious clinical consequences, such as desaturation, bradycardia, airway injuries, or aspiration. The overall success rate of tracheal intubation ranges between 77% and 99%, depending on the level of experience of the provider. Therefore, advanced airway management should only be performed by highly-skilled and experienced providers. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that HEMS physicians performed airway management frequently and that both the first attempt as well as the overall success rate of tracheal intubation was high. Together with the fact that all failed and difficult intubations were successfully recognized and handled and that no surgical airway had to be established, the current study once more underlines the importance of proper training of HEMS care providers regarding airway management.
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Real-time feedback improves CPR performance. Chest compression data may be obtained from an accelerometer/force sensor, but the impedance signal would serve as a less costly, universally available alternative. The objective is to assess the performance of a method which detects the presence/absence of chest compressions and derives CPR quality metrics from the impedance signal in real-time at 1s intervals without any latency period. ⋯ A real-time method detected chest compressions from the impedance signal with high sensitivity and specificity and accurately estimated chest compression fraction and rate. Future investigation should evaluate whether an impedance-based guidance system can provide an acceptable alternative to an accelerometer-based system.