BACKGROUND Practice guidelines recommend regional systems of care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, whether emergency medical services should bypass nonpercutaneous cardiac intervention (non-PCI) facilities and transport out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients directly to PCI centers despite longer transport time remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Using the Cardiac Arrest Registr...

Three patients are described who sustained injuries around the time of a collapse that led to out of hospital cardiac arrest. In this group of patients the importance of taking a complete medical history and recording the circumstances of the syncopal episode cannot be overemphasised. If cardiac output is successfully restored the possibility of occult traumatic injury must be considered in hig...

Worldwide, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains a lifelosing proposition for the vast majority of its victims. In the United States, prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) personnel attend an estimated 273 000 persons with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (defined as circulatory or pulseless collapse) each year.1 Survival to hospital discharge from all presenting rhythms of cardiac arrest...

PURPOSE The frequency, extent, time frame, and implications of changes to the modified early warning score (MEWS) in the 24 hours prior to cardiac arrest are not known. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and trends of the MEWS prior to in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) on a ward, and to evaluate the association between changes in the MEWS and in-hospital mortality. METHODS A total of 501...

In today’s Lancet, Yih-Sharng Chen and colleagues show the possible benefi ts of extracorporeal life-support in adults receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in hospital for more than 10 min for problems of cardiac origin. Irrespective of the advancements made in con ventional CPR, median survivals to discharge after involvement of emergency medical services are only 6·4% for out-of-hosp...

OBJECTIVE Little is known about long-term prognosis following resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, especially as it relates to the presenting rhythm or arrest aetiology. We investigated long-term survival among those discharged alive following resuscitation according to presenting rhythm and arrest aetiology. METHODS We conducted a cohort investigation of all non-traumatic adult...

AIMS In adult cardiac arrest, antiarrhythmic drugs are frequently utilized in acute management and legions of medical providers have memorized the dosage and timing of administration. However, data supporting their use is limited and is the focus of this comprehensive review. METHODS Databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library (including Cochrane database for systematic reviews and Cochrane ...

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Some recent studies have shown an association between diabetes and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence and survival. We aimed to investigate whether there is an association between the presence of diabetes mellitus and survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in patients with an in-hospital cardiac arres...

Survivability characteristics after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the population with spinal cord injury (SCI) are unclear but may be useful for advanced care planning discussions with patients. Retrospective evaluation from records of all SCI patients over 10 yr at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest was performed. Demographic data and ...

The aim of the study is to determine the clinical features and outcomes of cocaine users admitted to the hospital after cardiac arrest and compare them with nonusers. Cocaine is associated with cardiovascular complications, including ventricular arrhythmias; however, resuscitated cardiac arrest in relation to cocaine use is not a well-defined clinical entity. We reviewed available hospital char...