Resuscitation
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Japanese emergency medical services (EMS) personnel providing advance life support confirm the absence of a carotid pulse before initiating chest compressions (CCs) in adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study aims to investigate the efficacy of a new protocol facilitating early CCs before definitive cardiac arrest in enhancing the outcomes of OHCA. ⋯ A new EMS protocol facilitating early CCs before definitive cardiac arrest was associated with higher survival of EMS-witnessed OHCA.
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Prognostication of cardiac arrest patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) may influence treatment decision, but remains challenging. We evaluated the incremental usefulness of routine blood markers from different biological pathways for predicting fatal outcome and neurological deficits in cardiac arrest patients. ⋯ Assessment of routine markers of inflammation/infection and shock provide significant improvements for prognostication of cardiac arrest patients, while cardiac markers did not further improve statistical models. Combination of blood markers and clinical parameters may help to improve initial management decisions in this vulnerable patient population.
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Observational Study
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest termination of resuscitation with ongoing CPR: An observational study.
Termination of resuscitation guidelines for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can identify patients in whom continuing resuscitation has little chance of success. This study examined the outcomes of patients transferred to hospital with ongoing CPR. It assessed outcomes for those who would have met the universal prehospital termination of resuscitation criteria (no shocks administered, unwitnessed by emergency medical services, no return of spontaneous circulation). ⋯ Overall survival amongst patients transported to hospital with ongoing CPR was very poor. Application of the universal prehospital termination of resuscitation rule, in patients without obvious reversible causes of cardiac arrest, would have allowed resuscitation to have been discontinued at the scene for 39.2% of patients who did not survive.
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Observational Study
A potential termination of resuscitation rule for EMS to implement in the field for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: An observational cohort study.
Despite international guidelines recommending termination of resuscitation (TOR) rules for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), their implementation remains low. We aimed to develop and validate a new TOR rule that could allow emergency medical service (EMS) personnel to immediately and objectively decide whether to withhold further resuscitation attempts after their arrival. ⋯ Based on three objective variables: unshockable initial rhythm, unwitnessed by bystanders, and age ≥73 years, which can be collected immediately after the arrival of EMS personnel at the scene, a new TOR can be developed. Our potential new TOR rule provided an excellent PPV (>99%) for unfavourable neurological outcomes at one month after OHCA.
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Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is associated with a shockable rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, the impact of IHD severity on first recorded rhythm is unknown. We hypothesized that the strength of the association between IHD and shockable rhythm increases with increasing IHD severity. ⋯ IHD was associated with a shockable rhythm, with a moderate increase in the association in patients with a CAG or PCI procedure.