Resuscitation
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Accuracy of clinical assessment of infant heart rate in the delivery room.
Heart rate (HR) dictates intervention during neonatal resuscitation. Guidelines recommend that HR be assessed by auscultation or palpation. ⋯ Clinical assessment by 23 observers randomly allocated to assess HR by one of two methods in 26 infants, was found to be inaccurate and underestimate ECG HR. The mean difference between HR assessed by auscultation and palpation ECG and HR using methodology recommended by the Neonatal Resuscitation Programme was 14 and 22 beats per minute respectively.
-
Few prospective studies of the incidence and outcome of paediatric in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest have been reported to enable quality assurance comparisons within and between institutions. ⋯ In-patient paediatric cardiac arrest has a mediocre outcome with a better outlook if the initial rhythm is hypotensive-bradycardia, VF or pulsatile VT. Doses of adrenaline greater than 15 mcg/kg given for non-shockable rhythms may cause secondary VF which has a worse outcome than primary VF.
-
Comparative Study
Clinical testing of cellular phone ringing interference with automated external defibrillators.
This study examined cellular phone ringing interference with automated external defibrillators (AED). ⋯ Clinical testing during ECG monitoring by an AED during call from a cellular phone did not show any analysis dysfunction during unshockable rhythms and provoked only transient dysfunction of the speaker device.
-
A non-linear mathematical model of the oesophagus was developed to study the effects of non-invasive ventilation variables on the severity of gastric inflation. The model was based on the non-linear physical characteristics of biological tissue. The model simulated oesophageal mechanical function during non-invasive ventilation in cardiac arrest (2:30 ventilations/chest compressions cycles) and respiratory arrest (1:5 ventilations/s) as recommended by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) in its 2005 guidelines for adult basic and advanced life support. ⋯ The model indicates that the time required for the air trapped in the oesophagus to completely deflate is approximately 2 s. This may be longer than the expiratory time recommended by the 2005 guidelines. Model predictions support the 2005 guidelines regarding the decrease in the tidal volume and in the inspiratory pressure in an effort to minimise gastric inflation.
-
Adrenaline (epinephrine) is used during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) based on animal experiments without supportive clinical data. Clinically CPR was reported recently to have much poorer quality than expected from international guidelines and what is generally done in laboratory experiments. We have studied the haemodynamic effects of adrenaline during CPR with good laboratory quality and with quality simulating clinical findings and the feasibility of monitoring these effects through VF waveform analysis. ⋯ Adrenaline improved haemodynamics during laboratory quality CPR in pigs, but not with quality simulating clinically reported CPR performance.