Resuscitation
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Editorial Comment
Training in trauma care moves on--the European Trauma Course.
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Historical Article
Resuscitation great. A history of mechanical devices for providing external chest compressions.
The importance of providing good quality chest compressions with limited interruptions has been emphasised by the Resuscitation Guidelines 2005. The difficulties of providing consistent, good quality, chest compressions manually are well documented and attempts have been made to devise mechanical means to achieve this. ⋯ This paper provides a brief historical review of some of the mechanical devices which have been invented over the last 45 years in order to deliver external chest compressions. It also suggests some reasons why these devices failed to become a regular part of resuscitation practice.
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Review Case Reports
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from air embolism during sexual intercourse: case report and review of the literature.
We report the successful resuscitation of a 38-year-old woman in cardiac arrest following heterosexual intercourse 7 days after spontaneous abortion and an instrumental uterine evacuation. The collapse was thought to be due to venous air embolism (VAE). Her survival neurologically intact was attributed to appropriate first aid, pre-hospital and subsequent hospital intensive care. ⋯ Diagnostics and management techniques for venous air embolism are discussed. Air embolism should be included in the differential diagnosis for all young women in cardiac arrest, particularly when occurring during sexual activity. Instructions in risks of sexual intercourse during pregnancy and the puerperium should become part of pregnant women's education.
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Recent studies document a high incidence of hyperventilation by prehospital providers, with a potentially detrimental effect on outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ The incidence of hyperventilation by aeromedical crews was lower than reported for ground paramedics and appears to occur in response to desaturation, impending hypoxemia, or loss of SpO2 signal.