Articles: cardiac-arrest.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2024
CSU-ALS Certified Centers are Associated with Improved Failure to Rescue After Cardiac Arrest: A Propensity Score Match Analysis.
The impact of Cardiac Surgical Unit-Advanced Life Support (CSU-ALS) training on failure to rescue after cardiac arrest (FTR-CA) is unknown. We hypothesized that institutional CSU-ALS certification would be associated with lower FTR-CA. ⋯ Centers with CSU-ALS certification are associated with a lower risk-adjusted likelihood of FTR-CA. This highlights the importance of well-trained staff and treatment algorithms in the care of patients postcardiac surgery.
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an important prognostic tool in cardiac arrest (CA) survivors given its sensitivity for detecting hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI), however, it is limited by poorly defined objective thresholds. To address this limitation, we evaluated a qualitative MRI score for predicting neurological outcome in CA survivors. ⋯ A simplified, qualitative MRI score had excellent reliability and good discrimination for poor neurologic outcome. Further work is necessary to externally validate our findings in an independent, ideally prospective, cohort.
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Although magnetic resonance imaging, particularly diffusion-weighted imaging, has increasingly been used as part of a multimodal approach to prognostication in patients who are comatose after cardiac arrest, the performance of quantitative analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, as compared to standard radiologist impression, has not been well characterized. This retrospective study evaluated quantitative ADC analysis to the identification of anoxic brain injury by diffusion abnormalities on standard clinical magnetic resonance imaging reports. ⋯ Although quantitative analysis eliminates interrater differences in the interpretation of abnormal diffusion imaging and avoids bias from other prediction modalities, clinical radiologist interpretation has a higher predictive value for outcome. Agreement between radiological and quantitative analysis improved when using high-quality scans and when assessing for coma recovery using following commands. Quantitative assessment may thus be more subject to variability in both clinical management and scan quality than radiological assessment.
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Cardiac arrest is a hyper-acute condition with a high mortality that requires rapid diagnostics and treatment. As such, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become a valuable tool in the assessment of these patients. ⋯ As TOE has evolved, multiple variations have been developed with different utilities. In this article, we will review the evidence supporting the use of TOE in cardiac arrest and where the different forms of TOE can be applied to evaluate the cardiac arrest patient in a timely and accurate manner.
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Around six percent of comatose patients after cardiac arrest have a Cerebral Performance Categories score of three (CPC3) at six months after the arrest, classified as severe neurological disability. There is limited knowledge regarding the likelihood of further recovery in the cognitive, emotional, and quality of life domains. We aimed to estimate the probability of recovery towards independency. ⋯ Our study shows that while the probability of recovery towards independence for patients with severe neurological disability at six months after cardiac arrest is limited, most long-term survivors are satisfied with their quality of life.