Monthly Archives: November 2009

Physicians didn't improve outcome from nontraumatic cardiac arrest

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Cliff Reid

A Norwegian study retrospectively compared outcomes from non-traumatic cardiac arrest between ambulances staffed by physicians (PMA) and non-physician ambulances (non-PMA). There were no differences in any of the clinical outcome measures used in this study of 977 patients, in which … Continue reading →

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Fluids for cooling post cardiac arrest

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Cliff Reid

Large volume cold fluid resuscitation after return of spontaneous circulation can contribute to effective cooling but does it impair cardiac or respiratory function? A retrospective review of 52 resuscitated cardiac arrest patients suggests that the infusion of large volumes of … Continue reading →

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Pre-hospital intubation for head injury: ?no benefit

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Cliff Reid

A systematic review of pre-hospital intubation for head injured patients failed to show evidence of benefit of tracheal intubation or invasive ventilation. The authors acknowledge the lack of methodological quality in the studies reviewed and the predominance of US paramedic-delivered … Continue reading →

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Pre-hospital intubation 'success' at a US centre

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Cliff Reid

Of 203 patients attending a US Level 1 trauma centre who had pre-hospital airway management, 25 (12%) had unrecognised oesophageal intubations. Patients were treated in the field by fire rescue personnel of various municipalities and with different experience levels. Patients … Continue reading →

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Vehicle Rollover

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Cliff Reid

Vehicle rollover as an indicator of mechanism of injury was investigated in a study examining accident databases and the medical literature. Only 2.4% of crashes involved rollovers but they accounted for one third of occupant deaths. Some facts on vehicle … Continue reading →

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