Resuscitation
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Comment Letter Comparative Study
Effects of erythropoietin on neurological recovery after cardiac arrest.
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Israel is a small country with a population of around 7 million. The sole EMS provider for Israel is Magen David Adom (MDA) (translated as 'Red Shield of David'). MDA also carries out the functions of a National Society (similar to the Red Cross) and provides all the blood and blood product services for the country. ⋯ Local geopolitics has meant that MDA has to be prepared for anything from everyday emergency calls to suicide bombings and regional wars. MDA also prides itself in being able to rapidly assemble and dispatch mobile aid teams to scenes of international disasters. Such a broad range of activities is unusual for a single EMS organisation.
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To evaluate the decision criteria leading to refrain from starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the prehospital setting. ⋯ Decision criteria leading to refrain from starting CPR in the prehospital setting are age, previous health status and initial BLS. Further thought should be allowed to ensure a share in the decision-making process in this particular practice.
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Mild hypothermia (32-35 degrees C) impairs primary haemostasis and coagulation. Correction of these haemostatic impairments by rewarming alone may not be possible or desirable, particularly in major trauma, neuroanaesthesia and in critically ill patients. Pharmacological treatment of these impairments, if available, may be a useful alternative. Desmopressin has been used to treat various congenital and acquired platelet disorders, but its effects on hypothermia-induced impairment of primary haemostasis is not known. This study aims to investigate the in vitro effects of desmopressin on hypothermia-induced impairment of primary haemostasis using PFA-100 platelet function analyzer. ⋯ Desmopressin partially reverses hypothermia-induced impairment of primary haemostasis in vitro, and may be potentially useful in improving haemostasis in hypothermic patients with bleeding where immediate rewarming is difficult or undesirable.