BACKGROUND Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been used for decades in treatment of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The impact of the changing use of assisted ventilation in acute exacerbations on outcomes has not been fully elucidated and we aimed to describe these changes in the Danish population and describe their consequences for mortality. METHODS A registe...

Bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult should activate the emergency medical services (EMS) system and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest, with minimal interruptions. This recommendation is based on evaluation of recent scientific studies and consensus of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Car...

Xenopus laevis exhibits an extensive repertoire of breathing patterns during voluntary diving-emergence behaviour. In experiments where animals surfaced to breathe at a blowhole fitted with a pneumotachograph, two noticeably different patterns of breathing were observed. In the first (burst breathing), long periods of diving were periodically interrupted by short visits to the surface when a di...

OBJECTIVE To develop and evaluate a practical formula for the optimum ratio of compressions to ventilations in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The optimum value of a variable is that for which a desired result is maximized. Here the desired result is assumed to be either oxygen delivery to peripheral tissues or a combination of oxygen delivery and waste product removal. METHOD Equations ...

BACKGROUND Various modes of mechanical ventilation have different effects on respiratory variables. Lack of patients' neuro-ventilatory coordination and increasing the work of breathing are major disadvantages in mechanically ventilated patients. OBJECTIVES This study is conducted to compare the respiratory parameters differences in Adaptive support ventilation (ASV) and synchronized intermit...

The water analogue provides a visual model of the process of anaesthetic exchange. In the standard version, a single pipe connects the mouth container to the lung container and the conductance of this mouth-lung pipe is proportional to alveolar ventilation. This implies that inspired and expired ventilations are equal. In fact, with high inspired concentrations of nitrous oxide, early rapid upt...

CONTEXT Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines recommend target values for compressions, ventilations, and CPR-free intervals allowed for rhythm analysis and defibrillation. There is little information on adherence to these guidelines during advanced cardiac life support in the field. OBJECTIVE To measure the quality of out-of-hospital CPR performed by ambulance personnel, as measured...

To the editor: A patient who has suffered a sudden cardiac arrest has been defibrillated twice for ventricular fibrillation. After the second defibrillation, you resume chest compressions, initiate intravenous access, and prepare an epinephrine 1 mg bolus. During the pause after 30 chest compressions for ventilations, you notice this rhythm, Figure 1, on the monitor: Which of the following step...

Bystanders who witness the sudden collapse of an adult should activate the emergency medical services (EMS) system and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the middle of the victim’s chest, with minimal interruptions. This recommendation is based on evaluation of recent scientific studies and consensus of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Car...