Critical Care Controversies: The REBEL vs The SKEPTIC at #SMACC 2019

On the last day of the last SMACC conference, Dr. Ken Milne (The SGEM) and I had a cage match debating four critical care controversies. It was all done in good fun with both of us taking our opportunities to poke a little... read more

Critical Care Controversies: The REBEL vs The SKEPTIC at #SMACC 2019

Secrets of an Intensive Care Doctor

There are few jobs that place you on the frontiers of human existence: midwives see lives into the world, undertakers oversee their departure. In between these beginnings and endings, surgeons, doctors and nurses interact... read more

Secrets of an Intensive Care Doctor

Medical Dispatchers’ Perception of Visual Information in Real Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest

Providing medical dispatchers with visual information from the location of OHCA might improve their understanding of the OHCA-scenario, which might enhance communication, their ability to guide more bystanders and improve... read more

Medical Dispatchers’ Perception of Visual Information in Real Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest

Relationship Between Level of CPR Training, Self-reported Skills, and Actual Manikin Test Performance

As expected, higher levels of BLS training correlated with better cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality. However, this study showed that ventilations and hands-on time were the components of CPR that were most affected... read more

Relationship Between Level of CPR Training, Self-reported Skills, and Actual Manikin Test Performance

Optimum Chest Compression Point for CPR in Children Revisited Using a 3D Coordinate System Imposed on CT

The optimum chest compression site (P_optimum) in children is debated: European Resuscitation Council recommends one finger breadth above the xiphisternal joint, whereas American Heart Association proposes the lower sternal... read more

Optimum Chest Compression Point for CPR in Children Revisited Using a 3D Coordinate System Imposed on CT

The Patients Were Saved. That’s Why the Families Are Suing

What happened to Beatrice Weisman before dawn on Aug. 29, 2013, was not supposed to happen: The medical staff at Maryland General Hospital found her in cardiac arrest, resuscitated her and kept her alive. The matriarch of... read more

The Patients Were Saved. That’s Why the Families Are Suing

Is a Golden Age of Resuscitation on the Horizon?

Is emergency medicine on the verge of "the dawn of a new golden age of resuscitation?" That's the bold prediction from CPR innovator Keith Lurie, MD, a professor of internal and emergency medicine at the University of Minnesota,... read more

Is a Golden Age of Resuscitation on the Horizon?

Effect of Bag-Mask Ventilation vs Endotracheal Intubation During CPR on Neurological Outcome After OHCA

Among patients with out-of-hospital cardiorespiratory arrest (OHCA), the use of BMV compared with ETI failed to demonstrate noninferiority or inferiority for survival with favorable 28-day neurological function, an inconclusive... read more

Effect of Bag-Mask Ventilation vs Endotracheal Intubation During CPR on Neurological Outcome After OHCA

Surviving Refractory Out-of-Hospital Ventricular Fibrillation Cardiac Arrest

Multi-system organ failure is ubiquitous but treatable with adequate hemodynamic support. Neurologic recovery was prolonged requiring delayed prognostication. Immediate 24/7 availability of surgical and medical specialty... read more

Surviving Refractory Out-of-Hospital Ventricular Fibrillation Cardiac Arrest

Withdrawing vs. Not Offering Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Is There a Difference?

In light of the SCC's Cuthbertson v. Rasouli decision, the distinction between withdrawing and not offering a medical treatment is increasingly relevant. Because CPR is a "default" treatment for cardiac arrest, it requires... read more

Preventing Harmful Delays with POCUS During Cardiac Arrest

With the integration of bedside echocardiography into cardiac arrest, we now have a real-time tool to help us glean some of this critical missing information, as well as offer procedural guidance and prognostic data. However,... read more

Preventing Harmful Delays with POCUS During Cardiac Arrest

Gender Disparities Among Adult Recipients of Bystander CPR in the Public

Males had an increased likelihood of receiving Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (BCPR) compared with females in public. BCPR improved survival to discharge, with greater survival among males compared with females.... read more

Gender Disparities Among Adult Recipients of Bystander CPR in the Public

Chest Compression Rates and Pediatric In-hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Outcomes

Non-compliance with compression rate Guidelines was common in this multicenter cohort. Among ICU patients, slightly lower rates were associated with improved outcomes compared to Guidelines.Prospective observational study... read more

Chest Compression Rates and Pediatric In-hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Outcomes

Patient Remains Awake for 90 Minutes of CPR

A man undergoing CPR, exhibited signs of conscious awareness for 90 minutes before the medical team stopped the life-sustaining procedure, according to a new case report. The 69-year-old man was admitted to a hospital in... read more

Patient Remains Awake for 90 Minutes of CPR

A Cool Way to Save Trauma Patients

Laboratory research like Dr. Alam's has helped to provide answers to some of these questions and demonstrated the feasibility of rapidly inducing hypothermia for exsanguinating trauma. Assuming that the pilot trial and... read more

A Cool Way to Save Trauma Patients

Survivor’s Story Highlights Need for new ICU Support Group

A major heart attack at age 40 sent him to the ICU. Jason Levi aims to help others with life after the ICU. The medical term is post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). The nurses are Jenelle Baer and Janet Nelson. They're both... read more

Survivor’s Story Highlights Need for new ICU Support Group

The Revolution in EMS Care

There's a revolution taking place in emergency medical services, and for many, it could be life changing. From the increasingly sophisticated equipment they carry and the new lifesaving techniques they use, to the changing... read more

The Revolution in EMS Care

Examining Mechanical Chest Compressions

Mechanical chest compression (CC) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with AutoPulse or LUCAS devices has not improved survival from cardiac arrest. Cohort studies suggest risk of excess damage. Therefore, Koster et... read more

Examining Mechanical Chest Compressions

Ventilation Rate During Adult CPR with Tracheal Tube

The optimal ventilation rate during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with a tracheal tube is unknown. A new systematic review finds that a ventilation rate recommendation of 10 min-1 during adult CPR with a secure airway... read more

Ventilation Rate During Adult CPR with Tracheal Tube

Airport CPR Training Kiosks

Three airports around the U.S. have joined an American Heart Association (AHA) initiative to provide hands-only CPR training kiosks for passengers waiting for flights. The Cleveland Hopkins International, Cincinnati/Northern... read more

Airport CPR Training Kiosks

Intubation During CPR was Associated with Worse Survival and Brain Health

Intubating patients in cardiac arrest is widely considered ideal care. But in this analysis, the patients who were intubated were less likely to survive (16% vs 19%) or have a good functional outcome (~11% vs ~14%). Intubation... read more

Intubation During CPR was Associated with Worse Survival and Brain Health

Defibrillator-carrying drones could save lives, research suggests

Drones are already employed for anything from military to recreational use, from oil exploration to film-making, but they could also help save the lives of people who have suffered a cardiac arrest, research suggests. A... read more

Defibrillator-carrying drones could save lives, research suggests