European Resuscitation Council COVID-19 guidelines executive summary.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a substantial impact on the incidence of cardiac arrest and survival. The challenge is to find the correct balance between the risk to the rescuer when undertaking cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a person with possible COVID-19 and the risk to that person if CPR is delayed. These guidelines focus specifically on patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The guidelines include the delivery of basic and advanced life support in adults and children and recommendations for delivering training during the pandemic. Where uncertainty exists treatment should be informed by a dynamic risk assessment which may consider current COVID-19 prevalence, the person's presentation (e.g. history of COVID-19 contact, COVID-19 symptoms), likelihood that treatment will be effective, availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and personal risks for those providing treatment. These guidelines will be subject to evolving knowledge and experience of COVID-19. As countries are at different stages of the pandemic, there may some international variation in practice.

Automated external defibrillation in cardiac surgery.

Revision open heart surgery may be impeded by a dense network of pericardial adhesions rendering cardiac mobilization laborious or incomplete, and internal defibrillation impossible. External defibrillation, the current alternative to internal defibrillation, may result in myocardial stunning secondary to the delivery of escalating, monophasic, high-energy shocks. Automated external defibrillation, by delivering consecutive, non-escalating, impedance-compensated, low-energy, biphasic electric shocks to the myocardium, may provide a more effective and safer option whilst reducing the risk of myocardial stunning.

Action sequence for layperson cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Although some minor modifications were forged, the general consensus was to maintain most of the current guidelines for phone first/phone fast, no-assisted-ventilation CPR, the A-B-C (vs C-A-B) sequence of CPR, and the recovery position. The decisions to leave these guidelines as they are were based on a lack of evidence to justify the proposed changes, coupled with a reluctance to make revisions that would require major changes in worldwide educational practices without such evidence.Nonetheless, some major changes were made. The time-honored procedure ol pulse check by lay rescuers was eliminated altogether and replaced with an assessment for other signs of circulation. Likewise, it was recommended that even the professional rescuer now check for these other signs of circulation. Although professional rescuers may simultaneously check for a pulse, they should do so only for a short period of time (within 10 seconds). There was also enthusiasm for deleting the ventilation aspect of EMS dispatcher-assisted CPR instructions that are provided to rescuers at the scene who are inexperienced in CPR. lt was made clear, though, that the data are applicable only to adult patients who are receiving CPR and that the data are appropriate most for EMS systems with rapid response times.

Early defibrillation and the chain of survival in 'in-hospital' adult cardiac arrest; minutes count.

OBJECTIVE: To report the outcomes from and the impact of the chain of survival in 'in-hospital' cardiac arrest where the presenting rhythm was VF/VT, the arrest was witnessed, defibrillation was conducted rapidly and no other resuscitation interventions were required. OUTCOME MEASURES: Any return of spontaneous circulation and discharge from hospital. METHODS: A 2-year prospective resuscitation audit using the Utstein style was conducted within a major London NHS Hospital Group. RESULTS: There were 124 patients who had primary VF/VT arrest. Eight were excluded from the study and 14 had non-witnessed cardiac arrest. Twenty one patients had witnessed VF/VT arrest but with delayed defibrillation, 81 patients had witnessed VF/VT arrest with rapid defibrillation, 69 patients had witnessed VF/VT arrest with rapid defibrillation, CPR and other additional interventions. There were 15 patients that had witnessed cardiac arrest with a presenting rhythm of VF/VT, who received rapid defibrillation and had no ventilation or chest compression prior to or following defibrillation. All 15 patients achieved a return of spontaneous circulation, and 12 were discharged alive. CONCLUSIONS: Rapid defibrillation prior to any other resuscitation intervention is associated with increased survival from witnessed VF/VT arrest in in-hospital cardiac arrest victims, and that the time to first shock is critical in enhancing the prospects of long-term survival in these patients.

Early repair of inguinal hernia in preterm infants with oxygen-dependent bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Despite inguinal hernia being both common and problematic in a significant proportion of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), there has been a reluctance to intervene surgically for fear of exacerbating the underlying lung disease. We report our experience of early operation in 12 consecutive infants with varying degrees of oxygen-dependent BPD and investigate the effect of general anaesthesia and herniotomy on pulmonary function by measuring oxygen requirements prior to and following operation. Two infants who required oxygen in a concentration in excess of 95% failed to improve and died from the pulmonary disease 6 and 8 weeks following their operation. The remaining infants all showed a reduction in mean oxygen requirements in the weeks following operation. We conclude that, in the short term, hernia repair performed under general anaesthesia in infants with BPD of varying severity had no adverse effects on respiratory function, as determined by oxygen requirements. We suggest that in certain infants early repair may have been beneficial--potential mechanisms are explored.

Survey of 3765 cardiopulmonary resuscitations in British hospitals (the BRESUS Study): methods and overall results.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the circumstances, incidence, and outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in British hospitals. DESIGN: Hospitals registered all cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts for 12 months or longer and followed survival to one year. SETTING: 12 metropolitan, provincial, teaching, and non-teaching hospitals across Britain. SUBJECTS: 3765 patients in whom a resuscitation attempt was performed, including 927 in whom the onset of arrest was outside the hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Survival after initial resuscitation, at 24 hours, at discharge from hospital, and at one year, calculated by the life table method. RESULTS: There were 417 known survivors at one year, with 214 lost to follow up. By life table analysis for every eight attempted resuscitations there were three immediate survivors, two at 24 hours, 1.5 leaving hospital alive, and one alive at one year. Survival at one year was 12.5% including out of hospital cases and 15.0% not including these cases. Each hospital year averaged 30 survivors at one year: three who had an arrest outside hospital, seven who had one in the accident and emergency department, seven in the cardiac care unit, 10 in the general wards, and three in other, non-ward areas. Within the hospitals survival rates were best in those who had an arrest in the accident and emergency department, the cardiac care unit, or other specialised units. Outcome varied 12-fold in subgroups defined by age, type of arrest, and place of arrest. CONCLUSION: 71% of the mortality at one year in patients undergoing attempted resuscitation occurred during the initial arrest. Hospital resuscitation is life saving and cost effective and warrants appropriate attention, training, coordination, and equipment.

Prevention of transmission of infection during mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The risk of infection transmitted during mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose resuscitation procedures is difficult to define but is possibly quite low. However, the perceived risk is sufficient to cause serious concern for many individuals, including trained hospital personnel as well as the general public, and may preclude prompt and effective action. A novel airway device was evaluated for the retention of infective droplets and fluid permeability under simulated resuscitation conditions using a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training manikin. Retention of a 0.5-5.0 micron aerosol of Staphylococcus aureus cells was greater than 80% at flow rates of 6 l/min while under simulated resuscitation conditions the trapping of bacteria, originating predominantly from saliva, was over 90%. These data suggest that this device may afford significant protection against transmission of infection during exhaled air resuscitation manoeuvres.

Survival of the weakest. Improving prospects for surgery in infants of birthweight less than 1,200 grams.

Over a six-year period seventeen infants of birthweight less than 1,200 grams (including nine of birthweight less than 1,000 grams) underwent major gastrointestinal surgery. Fourteen of the seventeen (82%) survived, a higher rate than previously reported. Nine infants had necrotising enterocolitis, three had oesophageal atresia and five had other types of intestinal obstruction. Six infants who were unfit to be transferred to the operating theatre underwent surgery on the neonatal unit: of these, four survived. We feel the outlook is optimised by conservative surgical intervention and by maximal medical support with intensive care monitoring, post-operative mechanical ventilation and intravenous alimentation. Survival after surgery is now very much the rule in the extremely low birthweight infant, even in those who are too sick to be transferred to the operating theatre.

Relation of infant heart to sternum: its significance in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

In a radiographic study of 55 infants with an age-range of 27 weeks' gestation to 13 months post-term, the centre of the heart was positioned under the lower third of the sternum in 48 cases. In 4 infants the position was slightly more cephalad, but still below the lower half of the sternum. In 3 infants, the position was below the xiphisternal junction. Present guidelines for infant resuscitation should be revised in view of these findings.

Inadvertent intra-arterial injection of flucloxacillin.

Flucloxacillin 500 mg in 5 ml water was accidentally injected into a radial artery. This resulted in gangrene of parts of the thumb, index and middle fingers, necessitating amputation. Gangrenous areas requiring skin grafting also occurred in the forearm.

The anaesthetic management of a patient with a broncho-pleural fistula and intestinal obstruction.

A patient with a broncho-pleural fistula presented for emergency laparotomy for intestinal obstruction. Anaesthesia was managed with neuroleptanalgesia, and with endobronchial intubation before induction of anaesthesia.

Osmolar output in the peri-operative period.

The hourly urine volume and urine concentration of seven patients undergoing major abdominal surgery were measured during the operative and postoperative periods. From these, the hourly osmolar output was calculated. The results show that the osmolar output, 700 mOsm/day, in the peri-operative period is less than that of a 70 kg man consuming a normal 2000 calorie diet. Calculation of the osmolar output might help in the differentiation of postoperative oliguria and renal dysfunction.