European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Levosimendan is increasingly being used in patients with sepsis or septic shock because of its potential to improve organ function and reduce mortality. We aimed to determine if levosimendan can reduce mortality in patients with sepsis or septic shock via meta-analysis. ⋯ There was no association between the use of levosimendan and 28-day mortality and SOFA scores in patients with septic shock, though there was statistically significant improvement in cardiac function and serum lactate.
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Sudden cardiac arrest has a high incidence and often leads to death. A treatment option that might improve the outcomes in refractory cardiac arrest is Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR). ⋯ This retrospective study shows that around 10% of cardiac arrest patients are eligible to ECPR. Less than half of these patients eligible to ECPR were actually treated with ECPR in both IHCA and OHCA.
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Telephone calls are often patients' first healthcare service contact, outcomes associated with waiting times are unknown. ⋯ Longer waiting times for telephone contact to a medical helpline were associated with increased 1- and 30-day mortality within the first minute, especially among elderly or more comorbid callers.