Hemodynamic monitoring in cardiogenic shock.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cardiogenic shock remains a major cause of mortality today. With recent advancements in invasive mechanical support strategies, reperfusion practice, and a new classification scheme is proposed for cardiogenic shock, an updated review of the latest hemodynamic monitoring techniques is important. RECENT FINDINGS: Multiple recent studies have emerged supporting the use of pulmonary artery catheters in the cardiogenic shock population. Data likewise continues to emerge on the use of echocardiography and biomarker measurement in the care of these patients. SUMMARY: The integration of multiple forms of hemodynamic monitoring, spanning noninvasive and invasive modalities, is important in the diagnosis, staging, initial treatment, and subsequent management of the cardiogenic shock patient.

External validation of the Ottawa subarachnoid hemorrhage clinical decision rule in patients with acute headache.

We aim to externally validate the Ottawa subarachnoid hemorrhage (OSAH) clinical decision rule. This rule identifies patients with acute nontraumatic headache who require further investigation. We conducted a medical record review of all patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with headache from January 2011 to November 2013. Per the OSAH rule, patients with any of the following predictors require further investigation: age 40 years or older, neck pain, stiffness or limited flexion, loss of consciousness, onset during exertion, or thunderclap. The rule was applied following the OSAH rule criteria. Patients were followed up for repeat visits within 7 days of initial presentation. Data were electronically harvested from the electronic medical record and manually abstracted from individual patient charts using a standardized data abstraction form. Calibration between trained reviewers was performed periodically. A total of 5034 ED visits with acute headache were reviewed for eligibility. There were 1521 visits that met exclusion criteria, and 3059 had headache of gradual onset or time to maximal intensity greater than or equal to 1 hour. The rule was applied to 454 patients (9.0%). There were 9 cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), yielding an incidence of 2.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0%-3.9%) in the eligible cohort. The sensitivity for SAH was 100% (95% CI, 62.9%-100%); specificity, 7.6% (95% CI, 5.4%-10.6%); positive predictive value, 2.1% (95% CI 1.0%-4.2%); and negative predictive value, 100% (95% CI, 87.4%-100%). The OSAH rule was 100% sensitive for SAH in the eligible cohort. However, its low specificity and applicability to only a minority of ED patients with headache (9%) reduce its potential impact on practice.

Simulation training enables emergency medicine providers to rapidly and safely initiate extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) in a simulated cardiac arrest scenario.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonaryresuscitation (ECPR) is emerging as a viable rescue strategy for refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In the U.S., limited training of emergency medicine providers is a barrier to widespread implementation. AIMS: Test the hypothesis that emergency medicine physicians and nurses can acquire and retain the skills to rapidly and safely initiate ECPR using high-fidelity simulation. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective interventional study. SETTING: U.S. tertiary academic medical center. SUBJECTS: Emergency medicine physicians and nurses with no prior ECPR/ECMO experience. METHODS: Teams of three physicians and three nurses underwent a two-day ECPR training course including didactics, hands-on training, and simulation. Teams were videotaped initiating ECPR in a high-fidelity simulation scenario before and after simulation training. The primary outcome was the proportion of simulations in which full ECPR support was achieved within 30 min of patient arrival. RESULTS: Five teams completed the entire study. Full ECPR support was achieved within 30 min of patient arrival in 11/15, 15/15, and 15/15 attempts at baseline (B), post-testing (PT) and 3-month post-testing (3-PT), respectively (p = 0.06). Intervals (mean ± sd) required to achieve full ECPR support at B, PT, and 3-PT were 25.8±5.3, 17.2±4.6, and 19.2±1.9 min respectively (p < 0.05 for B vs. PT and 3-PT). CONCLUSION: High fidelity simulation training is effective in preparing emergency medicine physicians and nurses to rapidly and safely initiate ECPR in a simulated cardiac arrest scenario, and should be considered when implementing an ED-based ECPR program.