Abstract Background A favorable neurological outcome is likely to be achieved in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia ...(VF/VT) on the initial electrocardiogram (ECG). However, in patients without pre-hospital restoration of spontaneous circulation despite the initial VF/VT, the outcome is extremely low by conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Extracorporeal CPR (ECPR) may enhance cerebral blood flow and recovery of neurological function. We prospectively examined how ECPR for OHCA with VF/VT would affect neurological outcomes. Methods and results The design of this trial was a prospective, observational study. We compared differences of outcome at 1 and 6 months after OHCA between ECPR group (26 hospitals) and non-ECPR group (20 hospitals). Primary endpoints were the rate of favorable outcomes defined by the Glasgow-Pittsburgh Cerebral Performance and Overall Performance Categories (CPC) 1 or 2 at 1 and 6 months after OHCA. Based on intention-to-treat analysis, CPC 1 or 2 were 12.3% (32/260) in the ECPR group and 1.5% (3/194) in the non-ECPR group at 1 month ( P < 0.0001), and 11.2% (29/260) and 2.6% (5/194) at 6 months ( P = 0.001), respectively. By per protocol analysis, CPC 1 or 2 were 13.7% (32/234) in the ECPR group and 1.9% (3/159) in the non-ECPR group at 1 month ( P < 0.0001), and 12.4% (29/234) and 3.1% (5/159) at 6 months ( P = 0.002), respectively. Conclusions In OHCA patients with VF/VT on the initial ECG, a treatment bundle including ECPR, therapeutic hypothermia and IABP was associated with improved neurological outcome at 1 and 6 months after OHCA.
Public access defibrillation programs can improve survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are rarely available for bystander use at the scene. ...Drones are an emerging technology that can deliver an AED to the scene of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest for bystander use. We hypothesize that a drone network designed with the aid of a mathematical model combining both optimization and queuing can reduce the time to AED arrival.
We applied our model to 53 702 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occurred in the 8 regions of the Toronto Regional RescuNET between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2014. Our primary analysis quantified the drone network size required to deliver an AED 1, 2, or 3 minutes faster than historical median 911 response times for each region independently. A secondary analysis quantified the reduction in drone resources required if RescuNET was treated as a large coordinated region.
The region-specific analysis determined that 81 bases and 100 drones would be required to deliver an AED ahead of median 911 response times by 3 minutes. In the most urban region, the 90th percentile of the AED arrival time was reduced by 6 minutes and 43 seconds relative to historical 911 response times in the region. In the most rural region, the 90th percentile was reduced by 10 minutes and 34 seconds. A single coordinated drone network across all regions required 39.5% fewer bases and 30.0% fewer drones to achieve similar AED delivery times.
An optimized drone network designed with the aid of a novel mathematical model can substantially reduce the AED delivery time to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest event.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is associated with low survival, but early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation can improve outcomes if more widely adopted.
To examine temporal ...changes in bystander and first-responder resuscitation efforts before arrival of the emergency medical services (EMS) following statewide initiatives to improve bystander and first-responder efforts in North Carolina from 2010-2013 and to examine the association between bystander and first-responder resuscitation efforts and survival and neurological outcome.
We studied 4961 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest for whom resuscitation was attempted and who were identified through the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (2010-2013). First responders were dispatched police officers, firefighters, rescue squad, or life-saving crew trained to perform basic life support until arrival of the EMS.
Statewide initiatives to improve bystander and first-responder interventions included training members of the general population in CPR and in use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), training first responders in team-based CPR including AED use and high-performance CPR, and training dispatch centers in recognition of cardiac arrest.
The proportion of bystander and first-responder resuscitation efforts, including the combination of efforts between bystanders and first responders, from 2010 through 2013 and the association between these resuscitation efforts and survival and neurological outcome.
The combination of bystander CPR and first-responder defibrillation increased from 14.1% (51 of 362; 95% CI, 10.9%-18.1%) in 2010 to 23.1% (104 of 451; 95% CI, 19.4%-27.2%) in 2013 (P < .01). Survival with favorable neurological outcome increased from 7.1% (82 of 1149; 95% CI, 5.8%-8.8%) in 2010 to 9.7% (129 of 1334; 95% CI, 8.2%-11.4%) in 2013 (P = .02) and was associated with bystander-initiated CPR. Adjusting for age and sex, bystander and first-responder interventions were associated with higher survival to hospital discharge. Survival following EMS-initiated CPR and defibrillation was 15.2% (30 of 198; 95% CI, 10.8%-20.9%) compared with 33.6% (38 of 113; 95% CI, 25.5%-42.9%) following bystander-initiated CPR and defibrillation (odds ratio OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.78-5.46); 24.2% (83 of 343; 95% CI, 20.0%-29.0%) following bystander CPR and first-responder defibrillation (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.06-2.71); and 25.2% (109 of 432; 95% CI, 21.4%-29.6%) following first-responder CPR and defibrillation (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.13-2.77).
Following a statewide educational intervention on rescusitation training, the proportion of patients receiving bystander-initiated CPR and defibrillation by first responders increased and was associated with greater likelihood of survival. Bystander-initiated CPR was associated with greater likelihood of survival with favorable neurological outcome.
Spaced training programs employ short, frequent CPR training sessions to improve provider skills. The optimum training frequency for CPR skill acquisition and retention has not been determined. We ...aimed to determine the training interval associated with the highest quality CPR performance at one year.
Participants were randomized to 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month CPR training intervals over the course of a 12-month study period. Practice sessions included repeated two-minute CPR practice sessions with visual feedback and verbal coaching until Excellent CPR was achieved, to a maximum of three attempts. Excellent CPR was defined as a two-minute CPR session with ≥90% of compressions with a depth of 50–60 millimeters, a rate of 100–120 per minute, and with complete chest recoil. CPR performance was assessed in all groups at 12 months. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants able to perform Excellent CPR in each group.
A total of 167 participants were included in the analysis. Baseline assessment showed no difference in CPR performance (p = 0.38). Participants who were trained monthly had a significantly higher proportion of Excellent CPR performance (58%) than those in all other groups (26% in the 3-month group, p = 0.008; 21% in the 6-month group, p = 0.002; and 15% in the 12-month group, p < 0.001).
Short-duration, distributed CPR training on a manikin with real-time visual feedback is effective in improving CPR performance, with monthly training more effective than training every 3, 6, or 12 months.
Quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation contributes to cardiac arrest survival. The proportion of time in which chest compressions are performed in each minute of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an ...important modifiable aspect of quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We sought to estimate the effect of an increasing proportion of time spent performing chest compressions during cardiac arrest on survival to hospital discharge in patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
This is a prospective observational cohort study of adult patients from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Cardiac Arrest Epistry with confirmed ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, no defibrillation before emergency medical services arrival, electronically recorded cardiopulmonary resuscitation before the first shock, and a confirmed outcome. Patients were followed up to discharge from the hospital or death. Of the 506 cases, the mean age was 64 years, 80% were male, 71% were witnessed by a bystander, 51% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 34% occurred in a public location, and 23% survived. After adjustment for age, gender, location, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, bystander witness status, and response time, the odds ratios of surviving to hospital discharge in the 2 highest categories of chest compression fraction compared with the reference category were 3.01 (95% confidence interval 1.37 to 6.58) and 2.33 (95% confidence interval 0.96 to 5.63). The estimated adjusted linear effect on odds ratio of survival for a 10% change in chest compression fraction was 1.11 (95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.21).
An increased chest compression fraction is independently predictive of better survival in patients who experience a prehospital ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia cardiac arrest.
The goal of therapy for bradycardia or tachycardia is to rapidly identify and treat patients who are hemodynamically unstable or symptomatic due to the arrhythmia. Drugs or, when appropriate, pacing ...may be used to control unstable or symptomatic bradycardia. Cardioversion or drugs or both may be used to control unstable or symptomatic tachycardia. ACLS providers should closely monitor stable patients pending expert consultation and should be prepared to aggressively treat those with evidence of decompensation.
Abstract Aim Many healthcare providers rely on visual perception to guide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but little is known about the accuracy of provider perceptions of CPR quality. We aimed ...to describe the difference between perceived versus measured CPR quality, and to determine the impact of provider role, real-time visual CPR feedback and Just-in-Time (JIT) CPR training on provider perceptions. Methods We conducted secondary analyses of data collected from a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial of 324 healthcare providers who participated in a simulated cardiac arrest scenario between July 2012 and April 2014. Participants were randomized to one of four permutations of: JIT CPR training and real-time visual CPR feedback. We calculated the difference between perceived and measured quality of CPR and reported the proportion of subjects accurately estimating the quality of CPR within each study arm. Results Participants overestimated achieving adequate chest compression depth (mean difference range: 16.1–60.6%) and rate (range: 0.2–51%), and underestimated chest compression fraction (0.2–2.9%) across all arms. Compared to no intervention, the use of real-time feedback and JIT CPR training (alone or in combination) improved perception of depth ( p < 0.001). Accurate estimation of CPR quality was poor for chest compression depth (0–13%), rate (5–46%) and chest compression fraction (60–63%). Perception of depth is more accurate in CPR providers versus team leaders (27.8% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.043) when using real-time feedback. Conclusion Healthcare providers’ visual perception of CPR quality is poor. Perceptions of CPR depth are improved by using real-time visual feedback and with prior JIT CPR training.
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