Device for Cardiac Arrest Patients

[BEorP]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/370688/new_m...r_cardiac_arre/

Ugghh... again with the media using "heart attack" to refer to cardiac arrest.

[BEorP]

After calming down about the whole "heart attack" thing I have one more comment about the video. As great as it is to parade cardiac arrest survivors on the local news and say "yay we need Res-Q-Pods," it does not provide the whole story. A few things to consider:

- Great, two people survived. Who says that they would not have survived without the ITD being used?

- Great, the manager says that survival is increasing. That means nothing. Let us consider a few of the other things that could be going on in a community during the year that would increase cardiac arrest survival:

• implementation of new CPR guidelines

[*]providing medics with CPR quality feedback to improve their CPR

[*]increased bystander CPR

[*]implementation of a PAD program

[*]getting all medics to obtain a two year degree/diploma

- Why is this news? Is it because this community actually cares what are in the bags of their medics or could it somehow be that Zoll is trying to convince the public that the ITD is a required piece of equipment? I'm not saying that Zoll would do this, but it is worth considering since it would mean huge profits for them.

[Dustdevil]

Why is this news?

Because the narcissistic and self-destructive society is anxious to accept any news that we can pull them back from the jaws of death. That allows them to continue smoking, drinking, and stuffing their fat, sedentary faces, secure in the belief that they can still live to a ripe old age.

[Freaknuggetz_chick]

very interesting technology...but lemme throw this out there:::::

are we not moving to cardio-cerebral-resuscuitation?

in that with increased compressions vs ventilations we have better circulatory response, and the action of compressing the chest does give some air movement in between the venitilations, which are now further apart.

now, if we decrease the amount of free-flowing air into the chest with compressions, are we decreasing the chances of reoxygenating blood that is being circulated by our compressions?

yes, we need better circulatory response, but at the same time we also need maintain ventilatory support.....any one wanna help me wrap my head around this??

please!?

[aussiephil]

It is newsworthy because, once again, a device has shown some promise, however, now the media have gotten hold of it, unreal expectations are now heaped on EMS & hospital staff for the rare positive outcome. The same way TV shows such as House, ER etc show every Cardiac Arrest patient miraculously survives.

Journalists & TV producers worldwide need to tell people the facts, quite simply, if you suffer a cardiac arrest, chances are you will die. The margin for survival is low.

We need to investigate different principals for increasing outcomes, but doing so without providing false hope to the wider community.

Phil

[BEorP]

now, if we decrease the amount of free-flowing air into the chest with compressions, are we decreasing the chances of reoxygenating blood that is being circulated by our compressions?

yes, we need better circulatory response, but at the same time we also need maintain ventilatory support.....any one wanna help me wrap my head around this??

please!?

You are correct. The ITD will not allow air to passively enter during compressions. This may conflict with the ideas of compression only CPR, but we will see what survival rates look like and it may be worth it.

I would not be surprised that if the ITD proves itself, intubation may be re-emphasized in cardiac arrest due to the difficulty of maintaining the tight seal that is required with just a mask. This also allows continuos compressions and breaths (although from my understanding, giving the breaths then gets rid of any negative pressure build up).

[DirteMedic]

Has anyone's service actually put these ITDs into their collective repertoir? My service (Urban/Suburban service in Kentucky) is planning to roll out the ITD's soon. Just wondering if there is anyone who has used these yet.

[Kaisu]

As a single use device at about 100$ a pop, with medicare reimbursing resuscitation at a grand ole rate of about 600$, the odds of this showing up on an ambulance near you are about nil.

[WolfmanHarris]

It's my understanding that York Region EMS uses them and I'm pretty sure Toronto EMS is as well since their CME for their FD First Responders includes posters reminding them to put it on. I assume that's all under ROC though; since just about everything else is in Ontario.

[Chief1C]

I'd like to say its okay to put every cent forward to save a life. Ten for a grand, more w/ other options. We can buy 55 good Bag Valve Masks, for a grand.. I got my prices from tri-anim .

If it was such an amazing product, like the videos show, you'd think it would have become an industry standard?