Resuscitation
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Biography Historical Article
Moritz Schiff and the history of open-chest cardiac massage.
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Grain storage containers not only present inherent dangers to the operators, but also to the rescuers if someone falls in. Here we report the rescue of a patient from a grain container using a novel technique involving a cylinder placed around the patient. ⋯ The rescue action was complicated by acute chest pain in the patient while he was submerged in the grain, and a severe asthma attack in the emergency physician. The rescue and the dilemmas encountered are described together with a review of the relevant literature.
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To describe survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest in relation to the interval between collapse and start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). ⋯ Among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest in whom the interval between collapse and start of CPR was known, we found that in 80% of the cases CPR was started within the first minute after collapse. Among these patients, survival to discharge was twice that of patients in whom CPR was started later. These results highlight the importance of immediate CPR after in-hospital cardiac arrest.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of a new method for the carotid pulse check in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The ability to determine the presence or absence of a central pulse remains a key skill in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for healthcare providers, despite studies showing that they perform this poorly. The aim of this study was to evaluate a modified technique for palpation of the carotid pulse. ⋯ The new method of carotid pulse palpation results in a more rapid determination of the carotid pulse when it is present in all positions except with the neck neutral on the floor. This will only be clinically significant if trauma is suspected.