Resuscitation
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Cardiac arrests are often categorized into two separate groups depending on the location of the arrest: in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Despite this distinction, few studies have compared the two groups directly. The aim of this study was to compare patient characteristics, cardiac arrest characteristics, and outcomes for IHCA and OHCA patients. ⋯ In this large, national study, we found that IHCA and OHCA patients were remarkably similar in demographics and most comorbidities. IHCA patients had better outcomes compared to OHCA patients, although these differences disappeared when comparing patients with similar cardiac arrest characteristics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Design of an Adaptive Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a promising therapy for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) that is refractory to standard therapy, but no multicenter randomized clinical trials have been conducted to establish its efficacy. We report the design and operating characteristics of a proposed randomized Bayesian adaptive "enrichment" clinical trial designed to determine whether ECPR is effective for refractory OHCA and, if effective, to define the interval after arrest during which patients derive benefit. ⋯ This proposed adaptive trial design helps to ensure the population of patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment-as defined both by rhythm subgroup and estimated CA-to-ECPR interval-is enrolled. The design promotes early termination of the trial if continuation is likely to be futile.
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To describe trends in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest drug administration and to assess temporal associations of the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guideline changes with drug usage. ⋯ Changes to the PALS guidelines for lidocaine and bicarbonate were not temporally associated with acute changes in the use of these medications; however, better alignment with these updates was observed over time. A minor update to the language surrounding atropine in the PALS text was associated with a modest acute change in the observed use of atropine. Future studies exploring other factors that influence prescribers in pediatric IHCA are needed.
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Observational Study
Lactate and hypotension as predictors of mortality after in-hospital cardiac arrest.
Guidance on post-cardiac arrest prognostication is largely based on data from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), despite clear differences between the OHCA and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) populations. Early prediction of mortality after IHCA would be useful to help make decisions about post-arrest care. We evaluated the ability of lactate and need for vasopressors after IHCA to predict hospital mortality. ⋯ Post-ROSC lactate and need for vasopressors may be helpful in stratifying mortality risk in patients requiring mechanical ventilation after IHCA.
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Observational Study
Socioeconomic Disparities in Rapid Ambulance Response for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in a Public Emergency Medical Service System: A Nationwide Observational Study.
This study aimed to examine whether county socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with emergency medical service (EMS) response time and dual dispatch response of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients using county property tax per capita in Korea. ⋯ In OHCA patients, those in a lower SES are associated with longer response times and lower dual dispatch response.