Resuscitation
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To determine effective interventional targets for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by analyzing the distribution characteristics of arrest patients according to age and sex with special emphasis on ventricular fibrillation (VF). ⋯ Our study provides evidence that there are significant age and sex related epidemiological differences in cardiac arrests and we need to understand them better. Strategies that focus on high yielded patients, those in witnessed VF, should be pursued. These efforts should be expected to yield sex and age related differences in survivors.
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Prolonged coma is not an uncommon clinical problem following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. Early and precise prediction of outcome is highly desirable for ethical and economical reasons. The aims of this study were to use positron emission tomography (PET) to investigate the regional dynamic changes of cerebral blood flow and metabolism during the early period after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in unconscious patients and to evaluate if PET may be a potential prognostic evaluator. ⋯ An initially low CMRO(2) was common to all patients. Early development of subclinical focal ischemic lesions was also common. The progressive depression of CMRO(2) over the first week in those patients remaining unconscious may be an indication of prolonged but not necessarily permanent coma. Further studies are required to identify pathophysiological features that can predict the long-term clinical outcome in patients who remain unconscious after 1 week.
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Comparative Study
Experience with ketamine and sodium pentobarbital as anesthetics in a rat model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation.
We review 7 years experience with the chest compression model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation, comparing two different anesthetics. Ketamine stimulates cardiac function and only mildly depresses respiration; of the two it provides easier resuscitation. ⋯ Sodium pentobarbital mildly depresses brain protein synthesis, but depresses both cardiac and respiratory function, making resuscitation more difficult. Use of alternate chest/abdominal pumping (Babbs resuscitation technique), with judicious use of intra-cardiac epinephrine (adrenaline), made resuscitation reliable under sodium pentobarbital as well.
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Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an important component of the pre-hospital emergency care process. Location of the correct site for application of compression in External Cardiac Compression is crucial if patients are not to be exposed to the risk of iatrogenic injury. ⋯ Results indicated that, using the most conservative comparison, such pressure would be applied in 97% of instances, if the rescuer strictly adhered to the caliper method for locating the correct site. It is recommended that the caliper method be removed as an approved procedure.
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Myocardial dysfunction occurs immediately after successful cardiac resuscitation. Our purpose was to determine whether measurement of cardiac troponin I in children with acute out-of-hospital cardiac arrest predicts the severity of myocardial injury. ⋯ After cardiac arrest and resuscitation in pediatric patients, the severity of myocardial dysfunction was reflected in troponin I levels.