Abstract-Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest continues to be an important public health problem, with large and important regional variations in outcomes. Survival rates vary widely among patients treated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by emergency medical services and among patients transported to the hospital after return of spontaneous circulation. Most regions lack a well-coordinated approach to post-cardiac arrest care. Effective hospital-based interventions for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest exist but are used infrequently. Barriers to implementation of these interventions include lack of knowledge, experience, personnel, resources, and infrastructure. A well-defined relationship between an increased volume of patients or procedures and better outcomes among individual providers and hospitals has been observed for several other clinical disorders. Regional systems of care have improved provider experience and patient outcomes for those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction and life-threatening traumatic injury. This statement describes the rationale for regional systems of care for patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest and the preliminary recommended elements of such systems. Many more people could potentially survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest if regional systems of cardiac resuscitation were established. A national process is necessary to develop and implement evidence-based guidelines for such systems that must include standards for the categorization, verification, and designation of components of such systems. The time to do so is now. (Circulation. 2010;121:709-729.)Key Words: AHA Scientific Statements Ⅲ emergency medicine Ⅲ cardiac arrestThe American Heart Association makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of an outside relationship or a personal, professional, or business interest of a member of the writing panel. Specifically, all members of the writing group are required to complete and submit a Disclosure Questionnaire showing all such relationships that might be perceived as real or potential conflicts of interest.This statement was approved by the American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee on October 13, 2009, and by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee on October 30, 2010. A copy of the statement is available at http://www.americanheart.org/ presenter.jhtml?identifierϭ3003999 by selecting either the "topic list" link or the "chronological list" link (No. KB-0017). To purchase additional reprints, call 843-216-2533 or e-mail kelle.ramsay@wolterskluwer.com.The American Heart Association requests that this document be cited as follows: Nichol G, Aufderheide TP, Eigel B, Neumar RW, Lurie KG, Bufalino VJ, Callaway CW, Menon V, Bass RR, Abella BS, Sayre M, Dougherty CM, Racht EM, Kleinman ME, O'Connor RE, Reilly JP, Ossmann EW, Peterson E; on behalf of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascula...

Among adults presenting with acute respiratory illness, a prediction rule based on clinical findings accurately discriminated patients with and without radiographic pneumonia, and was used in two other samples of patients without significant decrement in discriminatory ability. This rule can be used by physicians to develop more effective strategies for detecting pneumonia and for helping to determine the need for radiologic study among patients with acute respiratory disease.

Cations such as magnesium and aluminum significantly impair the absorption of ciprofloxacin. Twelve healthy adult male volunteers participated in this four-way crossover study to investigate the effects of ferrous sulfate and multivitamins with zinc on the absorption of ciprofloxacin. Doses of ciprofloxacin (500 mg) were given 7 days apart and after an overnight fast. Dose 1 was administered alone (regimen A). The subjects then received either a ferrous sulfate tablet (325 mg three times a day; regimen B) or a once-daily multivitamin with zinc (regimen C) for 7 days; dose 2 of ciprofloxacin was then given with the last dose of regimen B or C. Subjects were crossed over to the alternate regimen for 7 days, and dose 3 of ciprofloxacin was again administered with the last dose of regimen B or C. After a 7-day washout, dose 4 of ciprofloxacin was given (regimen D). Ciprofloxacin concentrations were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The areas under the concentration-time curve (AUCs) of ciprofloxacin for regimens A and D were not significantly different (14.5 + 2.3 versus 15.7 2.8 ,ug. h/ml, mean ± standard deviation). The AUCs for regimen B (5.4 ± 1.7 ,ug h/ml) and regimen C (11.3 ± 2.4 ,ug. h/ml) were significantly different from the AUCs for regimens A and D. Peak concentrations of ciprofloxacin with regimen B were below the MIC for 90% of strains of many organisms normally considered susceptible. Ferrous sulfate and multivitamins with zinc significantly impaired the absorption of ciprofloxacin. The effect of ferrous sulfate is likely to be clinically significant; the responsible component of multivitamins with zinc requires additional study.The advantages of the fluoroquinolone antibiotics include excellent in vitro activity for gram-negative aerobic bacilli, a low frequency of adverse effects, and good oral absorption (6, 12). These features may allow the treatment of some infections which previously have required hospitalization and parenteral therapy (1). However, numerous reports have shown that certain cations, such as magnesium and aluminum, can significantly impair the absorption of most fluoroquinolones (4, 5, 7, 9; G. Hoffken et al., Letter, Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol., 4:345, 1985) and may result in therapeutic failure (M. Noyes and R. Polk, Letter, Ann. Intern. Med., 109:168, 1988). The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of another commonly ingested cation, ferrous sulfate (iron), and a multivitamin-with-zinc tablet (MVZ) on the absorption of ciprofloxacin in normal volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODSVolunteers. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. Written informed consent was obtained. The twelve healthy, nonsmoking male volunteers had normal medical histories and physical examinations and routine biochemistries. The mean (± standard deviation) age and weight of the subjects were 28.2 ± 3.7 years and 74.3 ± 6.3 kg. Exclusion criteria included hypersensitivity to any drug, use of medication for chro...

Emergency medical services (EMS) providers must often manage violent or combative patients. The data regarding violence against EMS personnel are poor, but according to studies conducted thus far, between 0.8% and 5.0% of incidents to which EMS personnel respond involve violence or the threat of violence. Physical or chemical restraint is usually the only option available to emergency care providers to control violent patients. Physical restraint, however, can lead to sudden death in otherwise healthy patients, possibly as a result of positional asphyxia, severe acidosis, or a patient's excited delirium. Chemical restraint has traditionally consisted of either neuroleptics or benzodiazepines, but those drugs also have drawbacks. Haloperidol and droperidol, the neuroleptics most frequently used for restraint, can cause serious side effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms or QTc (QT interval corrected for heart rate) prolongation. The Food and Drug Administration recently issued a black box warning regarding the use of droperidol, because the QTc prolongation associated with the drug has led to fatal torsades de pointes in some patients. Benzodiazepines are also associated with adverse effects, such as sedation and respiratory depression, especially when the drugs are mixed with alcohol. The atypical antipsychotics, a new option that may be available soon, are less likely to cause such effects and therefore may be preferred over the neuroleptics. Liquid and injectable formulations of various atypical antipsychotics are currently in clinical trials. Because few options are currently available to EMS personnel for managing violent patients outside of the hospital, more research regarding violence against emergency care providers is necessary.