The Impact of Chronic Oral Beta-Blocker Intake on Intravenous Bolus Landiolol Response in Hospitalized Intensive Care Patients with Sudden-Onset Supraventricular Tachycardia-A Post Hoc Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Trial.

Background: Landiolol, a highly cardioselective agent with a short half-life (2.4-4 min), is commonly used as a perfusor or bolus application to treat tachycardic arrhythmia. Some small studies suggest that prior oral ß-blocker use results in a less effective response to intravenous ß-blockers. Methods: This study investigated whether prior chronic oral ß-blocker (Lß) or no prior chronic oral ß-blocker (L-) intake influences the response to intravenous push-dose Landiolol in intensive care patients with acute tachycardic arrhythmia. Results: The effects in 30 patients (67 [55-72] years) were analyzed, 10 (33.3%) with and 20 (66.7%) without prior oral ß-blocker therapy. Arrhythmias were diagnosed as tachycardic atrial fibrillation in 14 patients and regular, non-fluid-dependent, supraventricular tachycardia in 16 cases. Successful heart rate control (Lß 4 vs. L- 7, p = 1.00) and rhythm control (Lß 3 vs. L- 6, p = 1.00) did not significantly differ between the two groups. Both groups showed a significant decrease in heart rate when comparing before and after the bolus administration, without significant differences between the two groups (Lß -26/min vs. L- -33/min, p = 0.528). Oral ß-blocker therapy also did not influence the change in mean arterial blood pressure after Landiolol bolus administration (Lß -5 mmHg vs. L- -4 mmHg, p = 0.761). Conclusions: A prior chronic intake of ß-blockers neither affected the effectiveness of push-dose Landiolol in heart rate or rhythm control nor impacted the difference in heart rate or mean arterial blood pressure before and after the Landiolol boli.

[Layperson basic life support education in Austria: An overview]. / Laienreanimationstraining in Österreich: Eine Übersicht und Annäherung.

Early interventions of laypersons can improve the survival and neurological outcome in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. There are several organizations in Austria which train lay people in basic life support and raise awareness for sudden cardiac death. To obtain an overview of the various initiatives, a questionnaire was sent to 26 organizations, and 15 of the organizations (58%) replied. The geographical distribution of the organizations between rural and urban areas was illustrated in a map. Most of them are situated in a university city, resulting in accessibility disparities for individuals in urban and rural settings. Layperson resuscitation education in Austria is largely dependent on the individual commitments of volunteers. The time spent practicing chest compressions in resuscitation courses ranges from 25% to 90% of the total course time. Furthermore, reasons for a lack of scientific endeavours could be identified, and solutions are suggested. Through better networking between organizations and initiatives, more laypersons could be trained in the future, which would lead to improved survival chances for persons suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Austria. Appropriate support by political bodies and public authorities is and will remain a key element.

Out of sight - Out of mind? The need for a professional and standardized peri-mission first responder support model.

First responders are an essential part of the chain (-mail) of survival as they bridge and reduce the time to first chest compressions and defibrillation substantially. However, in the peri-mission phase before and after being sent to a cardiac arrest, these first responders are in danger of being forgotten and taken for granted, and the potential psychological impact has to be remembered. We propose a standardized first responder support system (FRSS) that needs to ensure that first responders are valued and cared for in terms of psychological safety and continuing motivation. This multi-tiered program should involve tailored education and standardized debriefing, as well as actively seeking contact with the first responders after their missions to facilitate potentially needed professional psychological support.

Hemodynamic and Rhythmologic Effects of Push-Dose Landiolol in Critical Care-A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The highly ß1-selective beta-blocker Landiolol is known to facilitate efficient and safe rate control in non-compensatory tachycardia or dysrhythmia when administered continuously. However, efficacy and safety data of the also-available bolus formulation in critically ill patients are scarce. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study on a real-life cohort of critical care patients, who had been treated with push-dose Landiolol due to sudden-onset non-compensatory supraventricular tachycardia. Continuous hemodynamic data had been acquired via invasive blood pressure monitoring. RESULTS: Thirty patients and 49 bolus applications were analyzed. Successful heart rate control was accomplished in 20 (41%) cases, rhythm control was achieved in 13 (27%) episodes, and 16 (33%) applications showed no effect. Overall, the heart rate was significantly lower (145 (130-150) vs. 105 (100-125) bpm, p < 0.001) in a 90 min post-application observational period in all subgroups. The median changes in blood pressure after the bolus application did not reach clinical significance. Compared with the ventilation settings before the bolus application, the respiratory settings including the required FiO2 after the bolus application did not differ significantly. No serious adverse events were seen. CONCLUSIONS: Push-dose Landiolol was safe and effective in critically ill ICU patients. No clinically relevant impact on blood pressure was noted.

AsTeRICS: a new flexible solution for people with motor disabilities in upper limbs and its implication for rehabilitation procedures.

PURPOSE: To present the AsTeRICS construction set, and examine different combinations of sensors installed in the platform and how users interact with them. METHOD: Nearly 50 participants from Austria, Poland and Spain were included in the study. They had a heterogeneous range of diagnoses, but as a common feature all of them experienced motor limitations in their upper limbs. The study included a 1 h session with each participant where the user interacted with a personalized combination of sensors, based on a previous assessment on their motor capabilities performed by healthcare professionals. The sensors worked as substitutes for a standard QWERTY keyboard and a standard mouse. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain participants' opinions. All collected data were analyzed based on the qualitative methodology. RESULTS: The findings illustrated that AsTeRICS is a flexible platform whose sensors can adapt to different degrees of users' motor capabilities, thus facilitating in most cases the interaction of the participants with a common computer. CONCLUSION: AsTeRICS platform can improve the interaction between people with mobility limitations and computers. It can provide access to new technologies and become a promising tool that can be integrated in physical rehabilitation programs for people with motor disabilities in their upper limbs. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: The AsTeRICS platform offers an interesting tool to interface and support the computerized rehabilitation program of the patients. Due to AsTeRICS platform high usability features, family and rehabilitation professionals can learn how to use the AsTeRICS platform quickly fostering the key role of their involvement on patients' rehabilitation. AsTeRICS is a flexible, extendable, adaptable and affordable technology adapted for using computer, environmental control, mobile phone, rehabilitation programs and mechatronic systems. AsTeRICS makes possible an easy reconfiguration and integration of new functionalities, such as biofeedback rehabilitation, without major changes in the system.