EMS Analysis Wang HE, Mann, NC, Jacobson KE, et al. National characteristics of emergency medical services responses in the U.S. Prehos Emerg Care. 2013;17(1):8–14. Despite its prominence and history, only limited data exists to describe the national characteristics of EMS care in the U.S. To illustrate out-of-hospital EMS care in this country, researchers conducted an […]
According to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), there is limited evidence to show which strategies are most effective in allocating scarce resources during mass casualty events. Researchers at the AHRQ-supported Southern California RAND Evidence-Based Practice Center conducted an evidence review to identify the most effective strategies available to […]
According to a study published in the September issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, administering two minutes of CPR before defibrillation and rhythm analysis does not improve outcomes.1 The theory that a more perfused heart will respond better to defibrillation shock makes intuitive sense. However Ian G. Stiell, MD, and colleagues found no […]
A randomized study of 8,718 patients with non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at 10 ROC sites in the U.S. and Canada found no difference in the discharge rates between the patients who received standard CPR by EMS providers with use of an active impedance threshold device (ITD) or a sham device placed within five minutes.1 The […]
According to a recent observational study by Rosalyn Reades, MD, et al, tibial intraosseous insertion (IO) needle placement appeared to be a more effective insertion site than the proximal humerus.1 The study found that success rates were higher for this location and the incidence of needle dislodgements was lower. The study included medical cardiac arrest […]
When is it safe to send firefighters back into the fray? That was the question Gavin P. Horn, PhD, and colleagues assessed in a recently released study.1 They found that recovery from firefighting activities is significantly longer than the typical 10–20 minute rehabilitation period often provided on the fireground. Moreover, the study suggests that some […]
A recent study published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine provides the first look at the differences between hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke in children.1 The results indicate a need for more rapid identification of stroke symptoms by pre-hospital providers and emergency room physicians. According to one of the study’s author Franz Babl, MD, MPH, […]
Researchers conducting an observational study published in January in JAMA compared mortality at New York State hospitals with and without designated stroke centers and found that short- and long-term mortality rates were modestly better at hospitals with stroke centers than at those without the designation.1 It appears that these differences significant after adjustments for stroke […]
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that cardiac arrest patients who receive therapeutic hypothermia changes how neurological prognosis is estimated.1 A high level of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a substance detected in the blood that indicates the extent of brain damage, is no longer a valid indicator for patients who have received therapeutic hypothermia. For the […]
A prospective, industry-sponsored study by Tom P. Aufderheide, MD, and colleagues suggests that active compression-decompression CPR (ACD-CPR) with augmentation of negative intrathoracic pressure should be considered as an alternative to standard CPR to increase long-term survival after cardiac arrest.1 The study involved 46 EMS systems in the U.S. and 1,653 adults with non-traumatic cardiac arrest. […]
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