Aim-Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) varies between regions, but the contribution of different factors to this variability is unknown. This study examined whether survival to hospital discharge was related to receiving hospital characteristics, including bed number, capability of performing cardiac catheterization and hospital volume of OOHCA cases.Material and Methods-Prospective observational database of non-traumatic OOHCA assessed by emergency medical services was created in 8 US and 2 Canadian sites from December 1, 2005 to July 1, 2007. Subjects received hospital care after OOHCA, defined as either (1) arriving at hospital with pulses, or (2) arriving at hospital without pulses, but discharged or died ≥ 1 day later.Results-A total of 4087 OOHCA subjects were treated at 254 hospitals, and 32% survived to hospital discharge. A majority of subjects (68%) were treated at 116 (46%) hospitals capable of cardiac catheterization. Unadjusted survival to discharge was greater in hospitals performing cardiac catheterization (34% versus 27%, p=0.001), and in hospitals that received ≥40 patients / year compared to those that received <40 (37% vs 30%, p=0.01). Survival was not associated with hospital bed number, teaching status or trauma center designation. Length of stay (LOS) for © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Correspondence: Clifton W. Callaway, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Emergency Medicine, 3600 Forbes Ave #400A, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, 412-647-9047, FAX 412-647-6999, callawaycw@upmc.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Conflict of Interest StatementThe authors do not have any direct conflicts of interest related to the topics in this paper.A preliminary version of these data was presented at the Resuscitation Science Symposium, New Orleans, LA, November 5, 2008, and appear in abstract form in the proceedings, as: Callaway CW, Schmicker R, Kampmeyer M, Powel J, Nichol G, Rea TD, Daya M, Aufderheide T, Davis D, Rittenberger J, Idris AH. Influence of receiving hospital characteristics on survival after cardiac arrest. Circulation 2008;118 (Supp 2):S1446. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptResuscitation. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 May 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript surviving subjects was shorter at hospitals performing cardiac catheterization (p<0.01).After adjusting for all variables, there were no independent associations between survival or LOS and hospital characteristics.Conclusions-Some subsets of hospitals displayed higher surviv...

Background Positive Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) and hypotension often indicates urgent surgery. An abdomen/pelvis CT (apCT) may allow less invasive management but the delay may be associated with adverse outcomes. Methods Patients in the Prospective Observational Multicenter Major Trauma Transfusion study with hypotension and a positive FAST (HF+) who underwent a CT (apCT+) were compared to those who did not. Results Of the 92 HF+ identified, 32(35%) underwent apCT during initial evaluation and apCT was associated with decreased odds of an emergency operation, OR 0.11 95% CI (0.001–0.116) and increased odds of angiographic intervention, OR 14.3 95% CI (1.5–135). There was no significant difference in 30 day mortality or need for dialysis. Conclusion An apCt in HF+ patients is associated with reduced odds of emergency surgery, but not mortality. Select HF+ patients can safely undergo apCT to obtain clinically useful information.

Prehospital refrigeration devices are needed for current and future IH protocols. Low-technology methods in the form of a cooler and ice packs can provide cold saline storage for longer than a full 24-hour shift in a room-temperature ambulance. In extremely hot conditions, 4 degrees C NSS can be maintained for nearly 11 hours using this method. This model exhibits an economical, easily deployable cold saline storage unit.

Hospital management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) can influence patient survival via interventions such as hypothermia and cardiac catheterization (CATH). This study tested the hypothesis that survival differed between different types of hospitals for subjects with ROSC after OHCA. Methods: Adult (≥ 18 years) subjects with paramedic-documented ROSC or who lived >1 day after OHCA were identified with their receiving hospital in a prospective database from 9 regions in the US and Canada. Hospitals were characterized using the American Hospital Directory or the Guide to Canadian Healthcare Facilities. Hospitals were categorized by bed number (large >400; medium 250 – 400; small <250) and CATH capability. Associations between clinical variables, hospital categories, survival time, and survival to hospital discharge were determined using Cox regression and analysis of variance. Results: Between December 2005 and July 2007, 3644 OHCA subjects were treated in 254 hospitals, with similar numbers in large (1026), medium (1094) and small (1276) hospitals. CATH hospitals treated 2123 (58%) subjects, and patient features (63% male, 42% VF/VT, 67% witnessed collapse, and mean call-arrival interval of 5.7 (SD 2.8) minutes) did not differ between hospital categories. CATH hospitals had higher survival than non-CATH hospitals in large (35.1% vs. 27.7%), medium (34.4% vs. 30.7%) and small (38.6% vs. 26.5%) categories (F=19.55; p<0.001). VF/VT (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001) and witnessed collapse (p < 0.001) were associated with survival time. When adjusted for initial rhythm, call-arrival interval, witnessed collapse, age, sex, region, teaching institution, and trauma center level, there was no significant effect of CATH. However, the interaction of large hospital and CATH was associated with lower hazard of death (0.71, 95% CI [0.54, 0.93]). Conclusions: Transport to a CATH hospital is associated with increased probability of survival to discharge after OHCA. These data cannot determine whether cardiac catheterization was performed or if CATH hospital is a surrogate for more comprehensive cardiac care. Therefore, further work should examine what aspects of in-hospital care affected outcome.

Recent research supports the use of cold IV fluid as a method for initiating therapeutic hypothermia in post-cardiac arrest resuscitation. However, prehospital care programs employing this treatment have encountered various difficulties. Barriers to prehospital induced hypothermia protocols include the lack of effective or economically reasonable methods to maintain cold saline in the field. Objective. Determine the time that a standard commercial cooler can maintain two 1-liter normal saline solution (NSS) bags below 4°C in 3 different environments. Methods. Environments simulating an ambulance compartment were created for the experiment. NSS temperatures were continuously recorded inside a standard commercial cooler with or without ice packs (IPs) under one of three scenarios: ambient room temperature (25°C) without (IPs), ambient room temperature with IPs and 50°C ambient temperature with IPs. Four trials under each condition were performed. Time to warm to 4°C was compared using Kaplan-Meier log rank test. Results. In a room temperature environment with IPs, the NSS warmed to 4°C in a mean interval of 29 hrs 53 mins versus in ambient room temperature without IPs (1 hr 21 mins) versus in constant hot environment of 50°C with IPs (10 hrs 50 mins). A significant difference was found between the three environments (log-rank =17.90, dF =2, p =0.0001). Conclusions. Low technology methods in the form of a cooler and IPs can provide cold NSS storage for longer than a full 24 hour shift in a room temperature ambulance. In hot ambient conditions, 4°C NSS can be maintained for nearly 11 hours using this method. This model exhibits an economical, easily deployable cold saline storage unit.

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