心脏骤停后心肺复苏和心肺脑复苏成功病例的对比分析

目的 探讨影响心脏骤停患者成功脑复苏的相关因素.方法 回顾对比分析心脏骤停后成功心肺脑复苏(A组,n=38)和仅心肺复苏成功(B组,n=42)患者之间的相关指标,包括性别、年龄、原发疾病、心脏骤停原因、心脏骤停环境、心脏骤停相关时间和心肺复苏后相关治疗持续时间.结果 两组性别比和平均年龄比较差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).原发疾病:A组以外科为主(78.9%),B组以内科为主(61.9%),两组比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.005).心脏骤停原因:A组31例(81.6%)为急性缺氧、低血压、内脏神经反射和单纯心脏疾患, B组30例(71.4%)为慢性缺氧和慢性心脏病,两组比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.005).心脏骤停环境:A组24例(63.2%)发生在手术室和ICU,B组22例(52.4%)发生在普通病房,两组比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.005).心脏骤停相关时间:A组心脏骤停持续时间(8.2±8.7)min,自主心跳恢复时间(6.7±8.4)min,脑缺血缺氧时间(1.5±1.3)min,均明显短于B组[分别为(30.8±26.2)min、(27.7±24.9)min和(3.1±3.1)min,P＜0.001或P＜0.005].心肺复苏后相关治疗持续时间:A组亚低温持续时间(4.0±2.6)d,呼吸机持续时间(11.1±19.7)d,与B组[(5.9±3.8)d和(15.4±29.3)d]比较差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).Logistic多因素回归分析显示,原发疾病(OR=6.22,95%CI 1.64～23.46)、心脏骤停持续时间(OR=1.11,95%CI 1.04～1.19)和心脏骤停发生环境(OR=4.51,95%CI 1.22～16.61)与成功脑复苏的关系更密切,成为三个独立影响因素.结论 没有明显慢性疾病,在手术室和ICU以急性缺氧、低血压和单纯心脏原因发生的心脏骤停,抢救及时有效,复苏后处理恰当、合理,尽早实施全面脑保护是成功脑复苏的有利因素.     

Training rates and willingness to perform CPR in King County, Washington: a community survey

Background

It has been hypothesized that high rates of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in a community will lead to improved survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, factors to consider when designing a far-reaching community CPR training program are not well defined. We explored factors associated with receiving CPR training in the survey community and characteristics contributing to willingness to perform CPR in an emergency.

Methods

A telephone survey was administered to 1001 randomly selected residents in September 2008 assessing CPR training history, demographics, and willingness to perform CPR. Characteristics of survey respondents were compared to examine factors that may be associated with reports of being trained compared to reports of never being trained. A stratified analysis compared characteristics of respondents who reported a high level of willingness to perform CPR in those trained compared to those never trained.

Results

The survey response rate was 39%. Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents reported ever attending a CPR training class. A majority of people (53%) attended their most recent class more than five years ago. People who had never been trained in CPR were older, were more likely to be men and were less likely to have at least a 2-year college degree than those who had ever been trained. Among those who had been trained, younger age, male gender, time of last training and number of times trained were all significantly associated with willingness to perform CPR and none of these factors were associated with willingness in those who had not been trained.

Conclusions

Retraining rates, methods for reaching underserved populations and measures that will improve the likelihood that bystanders will perform CPR in an emergency should be considered when designing a community CPR education program.     

Public perceptions and experiences of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest and CPR in London

INTRODUCTION: The lay public have limited knowledge of the symptoms of myocardial infarction ("heart attack"), and inaccurate perceptions of cardiac arrest survival rates. Levels of CPR training and willingness to intervene in cardiac emergencies are also low. AIMS: To explore public perceptions of myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest; investigate perceptions of cardiac arrest survival rates; assess levels of training and attitudes towards CPR, and explore the types of interventions considered useful for increasing rates of bystander CPR among Greater London residents. METHODS: A quantitative interview survey was conducted with 1011 Greater London residents. Eight focus groups were also conducted to explore a range of issues in greater depth and validate trends that emerged in the initial survey. RESULTS: Chest pain was the most commonly recognised symptom of "heart attack". Around half of the respondents were aware that a myocardial infarction differs from a cardiac arrest, although their ability to explain this difference was limited. The majority overestimated that at least a quarter of cardiac arrest patients in London survive to hospital discharge. Few participants had received CPR training, and most were hesitant about performing the procedure on a stranger. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness and knowledge of CPR, and reactions to cardiac emergencies, reflect relatively low levels of CPR training in London. Publicising cardiac arrest survival figures may be instrumental in prompting members of the public to train in CPR and motivating those who have been trained to intervene in a cardiac emergency.     

CPR before defibrillation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a randomized trial

Objective: Current resuscitation guidelines recommend that defibrillation be undertaken as soon as possible in patients suffering a cardiac arrest where the cardiac rhythm is either ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT). Evidence from animal and clinical studies suggests that outcomes may be improved if a period of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is given prior to defibrillation. The objective of this study was to determine if 90 seconds of CPR before defibrillation improved survival. Methods: Patients suffering non‐paramedic witnessed VF/VT cardiac arrest were randomized to receive either 90 seconds of CPR before defibrillation (treatment) or immediate defibrillation (control). The study was carried out in Perth, Western Australia between June 2000 and June 2002. The primary endpoint was survival to hospital discharge with secondary endpoints of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival at 1 year. Results: A total of 256 patients underwent randomization. Baseline characteristics including response intervals were similar in both groups. Survival to hospital discharge in the CPR first group was 4.2% (5/119) compared with 5.1% (7/137) for the immediate defibrillation group (OR 0.81; 95%CI. 0.25–2.64). No difference in those achieving ROSC was observed between the groups (OR 1.16; 95% CI 0.49–2.80). Conclusion: Ninety seconds of CPR before defibrillation does not improve overall survival in patients suffering VF/VT cardiac arrests. Further studies to evaluate various aspects of this treatment strategy are required as published outcomes to date are inconclusive.     

Incomplete chest wall decompression: a clinical evaluation of CPR performance by trained laypersons and an assessment of alternative manual chest compression-decompression techniques

BACKGROUND: Complete chest wall recoil improves hemodynamics during CPR by generating relatively negative intrathoracic pressure, which draws venous blood back to the heart, providing cardiac preload prior to the next chest compression. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the quality of CPR delivered by trained laypersons and to determine if a change in CPR technique or hand position would improve complete chest wall recoil, while maintaining adequate duty cycle, compression depth, and proper hand position placement. Standard manual CPR and three alternative manual CPR approaches were assessed. METHODS: This randomized prospective trial was performed on an electronic test manikin. Thirty laypersons (mean age of 40.6 years (range 28-55)), who were trained in CPR within the last 24 months, signed an informed consent and participated in the trial. Subjects performed 3 min of CPR on a Laerdal Skill Reportertrade mark CPR manikin using the Standard Hand Position followed by 3 min of CPR (in random order) using three alternative CPR techniques: (1) Two-Finger Fulcrum Technique - lifting the heel of the hand slightly but completely off the chest during the decompression phase of CPR using the thumb and little finger as a fulcrum; (2) Five-Finger Fulcrum Technique - lifting the heel of the hand slightly but completely off the chest during the decompression phase of CPR using all five fingers as a fulcrum; (3) Hands-Off Technique - lifting the heel and all fingers of the hand slightly but completely off the chest during the decompression phase of CPR. The participants did not know the purpose of the study prior to, or during this investigation. RESULTS: Adequate compression depth was poor for all hand positions tested and ranged only from 18.6 to 35.7% of all compressions. When compared with the Standard Hand Position, the Hands-Off Technique decreased the mean compression duty cycle from 39.0 +/- 1.0 to 33.5 +/- 1.0%, (P < 0.0001) but achieved the highest rate of complete chest wall recoil (92.5% versus 24.1%, P < 0.0001) and was 46.3 times more likely to provide complete chest wall recoil (OR: 46.3; CI: 16.4-130.3). There were no significant differences in accuracy of hand placement, adequate depth of compression, or perceived discomfort with its use compared with the Standard Hand Position. CONCLUSIONS: The Hands-Off Technique decreased compression duty cycle but was 46.3 times more likely to provide complete chest wall recoil (OR: 46.3; CI: 16.4-130.3) compared to the Standard Hand Position without differences in accuracy of hand placement, adequate depth of compression, or perceived discomfort with its use. All forms of manual CPR tested (including the Standard Hand Position) in trained laypersons produced an inadequate depth of compression for two-thirds of the time. These data support development and testing of more effective layperson CPR training programmes and more effective means to deliver manual as well as mechanical CPR.     

东菱克栓酶在心脏骤停兔心肺复苏时的治疗作用

目的研究东菱克栓酶能否提高心脏骤停(CA)兔复苏成功率.方法将30只兔随机分成2组,即溶栓组和对照组,所有动物室颤10 min后行心肺复苏(CPR),溶栓组在开始CPR时静脉注射东菱克栓酶0.3 BU/kg.结果溶栓组复苏成功率明显大于对照组(P<0.05),溶栓组24h后仍有3只兔子成活,对照组24h后所有兔子均死亡.结论东菱克栓酶能提高兔心肺复苏成功率.     

Quality of CPR: An important effect modifier in cardiac arrest clinical outcomes and intervention effectiveness trials

ObjectivesTo determine if the quality of CPR had a significant interaction with the primary study intervention in the NIH PRIMED trial.DesignThe public access database from the NIH PRIMED trial was accessed to determine if there was an interaction between quality of CPR performance, intervention, and outcome (survival to hospital discharge with modified Rankin Score (mRS) ≤3).SettingMulti-centered prehospital care systems across North America.PatientsOf 8719 adult patients enrolled, CPR quality was electronically recorded for compression rate, depth, and fraction in 6199 (71.1%), 3750 (43.0%) and 6204 (71.2%) subjects, respectively. “Acceptable” quality CPR was defined prospectively as simultaneous provision of a compression rate of 100/min (±20%), depth of 5 cm (±20%) and fraction of >50%. Significant interaction was considered as p < 0.05.InterventionStandard CPR with an activated versus sham (inactivated) ITD.Measurements and main resultsOverall, 848 and 827 patients, respectively, in the active and sham-ITD groups had “acceptable” CPR quality performed (n = 1675). There was a significant interaction between the active and sham-ITD and compression rate, depth and fraction as well as their combinations. The strongest interaction was seen with all three parameters combined (unadjusted and adjusted interaction p-value, <0.001). For all presenting rhythms, when “acceptable” quality of CPR was performed, use of an active-ITD increased survival to hospital discharge with mRS ≤3 compared to sham (61/848 [7.2%] versus 34/827 [4.1%], respectively; p = 0.006). The opposite was true for patients that did not receive “acceptable” quality of CPR. In those patients, use of an active – ITD led to significantly worse survival to hospital discharge with mRS ≤3 compared to sham (34/1012 [3.4%] versus 62/1061 [5.8%], p = 0.007).ConclusionsThere was a statistically significant interaction between the quality of CPR provided, intervention, and survival to hospital discharge with mRS ≤3 in the NIH PRIMED trial. Quality of CPR delivered can be an underestimated effect modifier in CPR clinical trials.     

Evaluation of a tape removal test to assess neurological deficit after cardiac arrest in rats

BACKGROUND: In animal models of cardiocirculatory arrest (CA) it is of major interest to establish tests that can assess neurological damage after global cerebral ischaemia following CA. We evaluated a tape removal test with regard to detection of sensorimotor deficit, comparing it to the Neurological Deficit Score (NDS) in an established model of global cerebral ischaemia after CA in rats. METHODS: Rats were subjected to either 6 min of CA followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or a sham operation. At 1, 3 and 7 days from the intervention, two different neurological tests were applied to all animals: in the tape removal test, the time was measured from attachment of adhesive tapes to the front paws until the animals removed them using their teeth and compared to latencies in the sham group. The NDS assessed two parameters ("travel beam" and "stop at the edge of a table"). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare tests. RESULTS: In the tape removal test, all animals of the CPR group showed a clear neurological deficit throughout the observation period with a marked recovery until day 7 (pre-CA: 4s, 1 day: 180 s, 3 days: 165 s, 7 days: 44 s; data are median values). Latencies differed significantly from those of sham-operated animals (1 day: P<0.001, 3 days: P=0.003, 7 days: P=0.006). ROC analysis showed that the tape removal test but not the NDS was appropriate for detecting neurological damage 3 and 7 days after restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Histological examination confirmed neuronal damage to the hippocampus, cortex, thalamus and striatum. CONCLUSION: In the present study, a clinically relevant sensorimotor deficit after global cerebral ischaemia following cardiac arrest in rats has been quantified for the first time by using a tape removal test. The tape removal test is a sensitive method that can be easily applied to test large numbers of animals in future studies.     

A model of survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using the Boston EMS arrest registry

Objectives

To characterize the survival rate for out-of-hospital arrests of cardiac aetiology and predictor variables associated with survival in Boston, MA, and to develop a composite multivariate logistic regression model for projecting survival rates.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of all arrests of presumed cardiac aetiology (from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2007) where resuscitation was attempted (n = 1156) by 911 emergency responders.

Results

The survival-at-hospital discharge rate was 11% (vs. 1-10% often reported). The coefficients and odds ratios in the first equation of the model show that joint presence of presenting rhythm of ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia (VF/VT) and return of spontaneous circulation in the pre-hospital setting (ROSC) is a substantial direct predictor of survival (e.g., 54% of such cases survive). Response time, public location, witnessed, and age are significant but less sizable direct predictors of survival. A second equation shows that these four variables make an additional indirect contribution to survival by affecting the probability of joint presence of VF/VT and ROSC; bystander CPR also makes such an indirect contribution but no significant direct one as shown in the first equation. The projected survival rate if cases had always experienced bystander CPR and rapid response time of less than four minutes is 21%.

Conclusions

The unique model describes the major contribution of VF/VT and ROSC, and key relationships among predictors of survival. These connections may have otherwise gone underreported using standard approaches and should be considered when allocating scarce resources to impact cardiac arrest survival.     

Hemodynamic improvement of a LUCAS 2 automated device by addition of an impedance threshold device in a pig model of cardiac arrest

Introduction

The combination of the LUCAS 2 (L-CPR) automated CPR device and an impedance threshold device (ITD) has been widely implemented in the clinical field. This animal study tested the hypothesis that the addition of an ITD on L-CPR would enhance cerebral and coronary perfusion pressures.

Methods

Ten female pigs (39.0 ± 2.0 kg) were sedated, intubated, anesthetized with isofluorane, and paralyzed with succinylcholine (93.3 μg/kg/min) to inhibit the potential confounding effect of gasping. After 4 min of untreated ventricular fibrillation, 4 min of L-CPR + an active ITD or L-CPR + a sham ITD was initiated and followed by another 4 min of the alternative method of CPR. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), diastolic right atrial pressure (RAP), intracranial pressure (ICP), airway pressure, and end tidal CO₂ (ETCO₂) were recorded continuously. Data expressed as mean mmHg ± SD.

Results

Decompression phase airway pressure was significantly lower with L-CPR + active ITD versus L-CPR + sham ITD (−5.3 ± 2.2 vs. −0.5 ± 0.6; p < 0.001). L-CPR + active ITD treatment resulted in significantly improved hemodynamics versus L-CPR + sham ITD: ETCO₂, 35 ± 6 vs. 29 ± 7 (p = 0.015); SBP, 99 ± 9 vs. 93 ± 15 (p = 0.050); DBP, 24 ± 12 vs. 19 ± 15 (p = 0.006); coronary perfusion pressure, 29 ± 8 vs. 26 ± 7 (p = 0.004) and cerebral perfusion pressure, 24 ± 13 vs. 21 ± 12 (p = 0.028).

Conclusions

In pigs undergoing L-CPR the addition of the active ITD significantly reduced intrathoracic pressure and increased vital organ perfusion pressures.     

Arterial base excess after CPR: the relationship to CPR duration and the characteristics related to outcome

OBJECTIVE: We aimed (1) to determine the relationship between arterial base excess (BE) immediately after the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and (2) to ascertain the value of admission BE data as a predictor of mortality in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest (CA). DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: An emergency department of a teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Eighty-seven patients who presented with non-traumatic out-of-hospital witnessed CA between January 2001 and December 2004 in whom arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis was performed within 10 min after ROSC. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Individual medical records were reviewed for demographic characteristics; cause of CA; electrocardiogram pattern at the scene; CPR duration; ABG data; outcome (survival to discharge or in-hospital death). Significant correlations were observed between CPR duration and BE in all 87 patients (r = 0.51, p < 0.01) and in the 66 non-survivors (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), but not in the 21 survivors. Mean arterial BE in survivors was significantly higher than that observed in non-survivors (-15.3 +/- 5.7 mmol/L versus -19.1 +/- 6.3 mmol/L). Mean CPR duration was 34 +/- 16 min in non-survivors and 18 +/- 10 min in survivors (p<0.01). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that significant predictors of survival included cardiac aetiology (odds ratio, 6.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-33; p<0.01), ventricular fibrillation at the scene (odds ratio, 7.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-39.9; p<0.01), and CPR duration 相似文献   

Prehospital induction of therapeutic hypothermia during CPR: a pilot study

AIM OF THE STUDY: We studied induction of therapeutic hypothermia during prehospital resuscitation from cardiac arrest using an infusion of ice-cold Ringer's solution in five adult patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Paramedics infused +4 degrees C Ringer's solution into the antecubital vein of the patients with a maximum rate of 33 ml/min to a target temperature of 33.0 degrees C. RESULTS: The mean infused volume of cold fluid was 14.0 ml/kg, which resulted in a mean decrease of 2.5 degrees C in nasopharyngeal temperature. The decrease in temperature continued after the cessation of infusion in two patients, causing suboptimal temperatures below 32 degrees C. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the infusion of small volumes of ice-cold Ringer's solution during resuscitation results in an effective decrease in nasopharyngeal temperature. Caution should be taken to avoid temperatures below the range of mild therapeutic hypothermia.     

Mild therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest - a nationwide survey on the implementation of the ILCOR guidelines in German intensive care units

AIM: To investigate the implementation of mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) after cardiac arrest into clinical practice. METHODS AND RESULTS: A structured evaluation questionnaire was sent to all German hospitals registered to have ICUs; 58% completed the survey. A total of 93 ICUs (24%) reported to use MTH. Of those, 93% started MTH in patients after out-of-hospital resuscitation with observed ventricular fibrillation and 72% when other initial rhythms were observed. Only a minority of ICUs initiate MTH in patients after cardiac arrest with cardiogenic shock (28%), whereas 48% regarded cardiogenic shock as a contra-indication for MTH. On average, target temperature was 33.1+/-0.6 degrees C and duration of cooling 22.9+/-4.9 h. Many centres used economically priced cold packs (82%) and cold infusions (80%) for cooling. The majority of the ICUs considered infection, hypotension and bleeding as relevant complications of hypothermia which was of therapeutic relevance in less than 25% of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: MTH is underused in German ICUs. Centres which use MTH widely follow the recommendations of ILCOR with respect to the indication and timing of cooling. In hospitals that use MTH the technique is considered to be safe and inexpensive. More efforts are needed to promote this therapeutic option and hypothermia since MTH has now been included into European advanced cardiovascular life support protocols.     

High acceptance of a home AED programme by survivors of sudden cardiac arrest and their families

PURPOSE: The feasibility and acceptance of providing sudden cardiac arrest survivors with life supporting first aid training and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at their homes is unknown. Preliminary experiences are reported here. METHODS: Trained medical students provided life supporting first aid courses including AED training to cardiac arrest survivors. Patients were asked to invite relatives and friends to such training sessions at their home. Laerdal Little Anne and Heartstart AED Trainer were used. An AED was placed at the patients' disposal. A refresher course took place 1 year later. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the project. RESULTS: Since 1999, 88 families have been trained and provided with an AED. Immediately after the training 90% (66% "agree", 24% "maybe yes") believed they would perform first aid correctly, 1 year later 98% did so (68% "agree", 29% "maybe yes") (p=0.03). Families considered feeling much safer having an AED at home. The handling of an AED was regarded to be easy and AEDs would even be used on strangers. Only on one occasion an AED was used in a real emergency situation. CONCLUSION: Providing patients and relatives with life support first aid and AED training at their homes is feasible and has raised no major objections by the family members. All have considered handling of an AED much simpler than providing basic life support and therefore none think that it would be a major problem to use it in case of an emergency. This still has to be proven.     

Shock outcome prediction before and after CPR: a comparative study of manual and automated active compression-decompression CPR

We report on a study designed to compare the relative efficacy of manual CPR (M-CPR) and automated mechanical CPR (ACD-CPR) provided by an active compression-decompression (ACD) device. The ECG signals of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients of cardiac aetiology were analysed just prior to, and immediately after, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to assess the likelihood of successful defibrillation at these time points. The cardioversion outcome prediction (COP) measure previously developed by our group was used to quantify the probability of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after counter-shock and was used as a measure of the efficacy of CPR. An initial validation study using COP to predict shock outcome from the patient data set resulted in a performance of 60% specificity achieved at 100% sensitivity on a blind test of the data. This is comparable with previous studies and provided confidence in the robustness of the technique across hardware platforms. Significantly, the COP marker also displayed an ability to stratify according to outcomes: asystole, ventricular fibrillation (VF), pulseless electrical activity (PEA), normal sinus rhythm (NSR). We then used the validated COP marker to analyse the ECG data record just prior to and immediately after the chest compression segments. This was initially performed for 87 CPR segments where VF was both the pre- and post-CPR waveform. An increase in the mean COP values was found for both CPR types. A signed rank sum test found the increase due to manual CPR not to be significant (p>0.05) whereas the automated CPR was found to be significant (p<0.05). This increase was larger for the automated CPR (1.26, p=0.024) than for the manual CPR (0.99, p=0.124). These results indicate that the application of CPR does indeed provide beneficial preparation of the heart prior to defibrillation therapy whether manual or automated CPR is applied. The COP marker shows promise as a definitive, quantitative determinant of the immediate positive effect of both types of CPR regardless of the details of use. In work of a more exploratory nature we then used the validated COP marker to analyse the ECG pre- and post-CPR for all rhythm types (212 traces). We show a significant increase in the COP measure (p<0.001 in both cases) as indicated by a shift in the median COP marker distribution values. This increase was more pronounced for automated ACD-CPR than for manual CPR. However, a detailed statistical analysis carried out between the groups adjusted for pre-CPR value showed no significant difference between the two methods of CPR (p=0.20). Similarly, adjusting for length of CPR showed no significant difference between the groups. Secondary, subgroup analysis of the ECG according to the length of time for which CPR was performed showed that both types of CPR led to an increase in the likelihood of successful defibrillation after increasing durations of CPR, however results were less reliable after longer periods of continuous CPR.     

The effect of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on psychological variables of cardiac rehabilitation patients

As a component of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is widely recommended. These recommendations advocate the importance of offering CPR training to cardiac patients' families. Prior research examining the effect of CPR training on the cardiac patients spouse or family member, suggests that receiving CPR training within a supportive environment such as cardiac rehabilitation causes no adverse psychological effects in the family members. Patients are often excluded from CPR training due to fears of the possible physiological consequences. Conversely, there may be negative psychological consequences for patients who are excluded from CPR training. Although cardiac patients are at high risk of cardiac arrest themselves this should not preclude them from having the ability to help another. The aim of this study was to assess the impact on anxiety, depression and perception of control (POC) of CPR training for the cardiac patients as an integral part of an 8-week phase III Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme. Fifty-eight patients and 54 family members or partners attending an 8-week CR programme were offered optional CPR training during the final week of the programme. Forty-nine patient subjects were evaluated at four time points, using the hospital anxiety and depression scale and the control attitudes scale. Seventy-five percent (n = 37) of patients participated in the CPR training. Teaching CPR to cardiac patients did not affect anxiety levels adversely. There was an overall significant decrease in anxiety scores for both patient groups over time (p = 0.0071). Both patient groups showed an average moderate level of POC at baseline but the POC level in those who did the CPR training continued to increase slightly throughout the study period. If the patient agreed to undertake CPR training approximately 61% of their relatives or partners also undertook the training, but when the patient did not avail of the CPR training only 20% of their relatives or partners participated. Cardiac patients would appear to have a desire to learn CPR. It is recommended that cardiac patients be involved in CPR training as it poses them no adverse psychological consequences and may improve their perception of control. Inclusion of the patients in the CPR training may help increase the participation in CPR training by cardiac patients' families.     

A model of survival following pre-hospital cardiac arrest based on the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Register

AIMS: This study describes the epidemiology of sudden cardiac arrest patients in Victoria, Australia, as captured via the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Register (VACAR). We used the VACAR data to construct a new model of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), which was specified in accordance with observed trends. PATIENTS: All cases of cardiac arrest in Victoria that were attended by Victorian ambulance services during the period of 2002-2005. RESULTS: Overall survival to hospital discharge was 3.8% among 18,827 cases of OHCA. Survival was 15.7% among 1726 bystander witnessed, adult cardiac arrests of presumed cardiac aetiology, presenting in ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT), where resuscitation was attempted. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, bystander CPR, cardiac arrest (CA) location, response time, age and sex were predictors of VF/VT, which, in turn, was a strong predictor of survival. The same factors that affected VF/VT made an additional contribution to survival. However, for bystander CPR, CA location and response time this additional contribution was limited to VF/VT patients only. There was no detectable association between survival and age younger than 60 years or response time over 15min. CONCLUSION: The new model accounts for relationships among predictors of survival. These relationships indicate that interventions such as reduced response times and bystander CPR act in multiple ways to improve survival.     

Association of delay to first intervention with return of spontaneous circulation in a swine model of cardiac arrest

OBJECTIVE: No single drug improves survival after cardiac arrest, despite success in animal studies. We sought to determine the duration of circulatory arrest after which maximal drug treatment and a rescue shock would fail to achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). DESIGN/SUBJECTS: Retrospective analysis of 271 swine (20-30 kg) resuscitation attempts during ventricular fibrillation. Protocols were divided into five categories: immediate countershock, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with standard-dose drugs, CPR alone, CPR and high-dose epinephrine (CPR+HDE) (0.1 mg/kg), and CPR with a drug cocktail (CPR+DC) of propanolol (1 mg), epinephrine (adrenaline) (0.1 mg/kg) and vasopressin (40IU). Time to first CPR, time to first drug administration, time to first shock, and protocol were examined as predictors of ROSC using logistic regression with Hosmer-Lemeshow test of fit. Probability of ROSC was calculated from logistic curves. MAIN RESULTS: ROSC occurred in 119 of the 271 swine (44%). Time to first drug and the CPR+DC group were predictors of ROSC. Time to first CPR, the CPR+DC group, and the CPR+HDE group were also predictors of ROSC. Time to first rescue shock, the CPR+DC group, and the CPR+HDE groups were predictors of ROSC. In the CPR+DC group, 50% ROSC occurred at a first CPR time of 13.4 min, first drug time of 14.1 min and first rescue shock time of 17.5 min. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-shock delivery of CPR+DC increases the likelihood of ROSC, and reaches 50% with a time of drug delivery of 14.1 min. ROSC rates of 50% may be achievable using an optimized resuscitation in experimental CPR.