Resuscitation
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Observational Study
Survival of cardiac arrest patients on ski slopes: A 10-year analysis of the Northern French Alps Emergency Network.
Intense physical activity, cold and altitude make mountain sports a cause of increased risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The difficulties of pre-hospital management related to this challenging environment could be mitigated by the presence of ski-patrollers in ski areas and use of helicopters for medical rescue. We assess whether this particular situation positively impacts the chain of survival compared to the general population. ⋯ Despite difficult access and management conditions, patients undergoing OHCAs on ski slopes presented a higher survival rate, possibly explained by a healthier population, the efficiency of resuscitation by ski-patrols and similar time to ALS facilities compared to other cardiac arrests.
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Implementation research that describes how successfully resuscitation guidelines are translated into practice are lacking. We examined whether recent community-based initiatives being conducted as part of the Minnesota Heart Safe (HS) Communities program increase the delivery of CPR and use of automated external defibrillators (AED) by bystanders and first responders prior to ambulance arrival. ⋯ Implementation of the Heart Safe program in communities within our ambulance service area in Minnesota has increased use of CPR and AEDs by bystanders and first responders prior to ambulance arrival.
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Editorial Comment
Prognosis after Cardiac Arrest: Vindication of the Humble CT scan.