Radiographs of 49 spontaneous pneumothoraces were studied, showing that in the expiratory films, pneumothoraces were on average 9% larger. When applying British Thoracic Society or American College of Chest Physicians guidelines, this difference would have led to a different management strategy.
What is the difference in size of spontaneous pneumothorax between inspiratory and expiratory x-rays?
Emerg Med J. 2009 Dec;26(12):861-3
Category Archives: Resus
Life-saving medicine
Subarachnoid haemorrhage guidelines
Guidelines on Subarachnoid Haemorrhage are available from the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association.
Most of the summaries are included below.
The initial bleed
The severity of the initial bleed should be determined rapidly because it is the most useful indicator of outcome after aneurysmal SAH, and grading scales that rely heavily on this factor are helpful in planning future care with family and other physicians
Case review and prospective cohorts have shown that for untreated, ruptured aneurysms, there is at least a 3% to 4% risk of rebleeding in the first 24 hours—and possibly significantly higher—with a high percentage occurring immediately (within 2 to 12 hours) after the initial ictus, a 1% per day to 2% per day risk in the first month, and a long-term risk of 3% per year after 3 months. Urgent evaluation and treatment of patients with suspected SAH are therefore recommended
Diagnosis
- A high level of suspicion for SAH should exist in patients with acute onset of severe headache
- CT scanning for suspected SAH should be performed, and lumbar puncture for analysis of CSF is strongly recommended when the CT scan is negative
- Selective cerebral angiography should be performed in patients with SAH to document the presence and anatomic features of aneurysms
- MRA and CTA may be considered when conventional angiography cannot be performed in a timely fashion
The degree of neurological impairment using an accepted SAH grading system can be useful for prognosis and triage and should be recorded in the ED. Examples include the Hunt and Hess Scale, Fisher Scale, Glasgow Coma Scale, and World Federation of Neurological Surgeons Scale.
Medical Measures to Prevent Rebleeding After SAH
- Blood pressure should be monitored and controlled to balance the risk of stroke, hypertension-related rebleeding, and maintenance of cerebral perfusion pressure
- Bedrest alone is not enough to prevent rebleeding after SAH. It may be considered a component of a broader treatment strategy, along with more definitive measures
- Although older studies demonstrated an overall negative effect of antifibrinolytics, recent evidence suggests that early treatment with a short course of antifibrinolytic agents combined with a program of early aneurysm treatment followed by discontinuation of the antifibrino- lytic and prophylaxis against hypovolemia and vasospasm may be reasonable, but further research is needed. Furthermore, antifibrinolytic therapy to prevent rebleeding may be considered in certain clinical situations, eg, in patients with a low risk of vasospasm and/or a beneficial effect of delaying surgery.
Surgical treatment
- Surgical clipping or endovascular coiling should be per- formed to reduce the rate of rebleeding after aneurysmal SAH
- Wrapped or coated aneurysms and incompletely clipped or coiled aneurysms have an increased risk of rehemorrhage compared with those that are completely occluded and therefore require long-term follow-up angiography. Com- plete obliteration of the aneurysm is recommended whenever possible
- For patients with ruptured aneurysms judged by an experienced team of cerebrovascular surgeons and endovascu- lar practitioners to be technically amenable to both endovascular coiling and neurosurgical clipping, endovascular coiling can be beneficial. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to consider individual characteristics of the patient and the aneurysm in deciding the best means of repair, and management of patients in centers offering both techniques is probably indicated
- Although previous studies showed that overall outcome was not different for early versus delayed surgery after SAH, early treatment reduces the risk of rebleeding after SAH, and newer methods may increase the effectiveness of early aneurysm treatment. Early aneurysm treatment is reasonable and is probably indicated in the majority of cases
Management of Cerebral Vasospasm
- Oral nimodipine is indicated to reduce poor outcome related to aneurysmal SAH. The value of other calcium antagonists, whether administered orally or intravenously, remains uncertain.
- Treatment of cerebral vasospasm begins with early management of the ruptured aneurysm, and in most cases, maintaining normal circulating blood volume and avoiding hypovolemia are probably indicated
- One reasonable approach to symptomatic cerebral vasospasm is volume expansion, induction of hypertension, and hemodilution (triple-H therapy)
- Alternatively, cerebral angioplasty and/or selective intraarterial vasodilator therapy may be reasonable after, together with, or in the place of triple-H therapy, depending on the clinical scenario
Management of Hydrocephalus
Temporary or permanent CSF diversion is recommended in symptomatic patients with chronic hydrocephalus after SAH
Ventriculostomy can be beneficial in patients with ven- triculomegaly and diminished level of consciousness after acute SAH
Management of Seizures
The administration of prophylactic anticonvulsants may be considered in the immediate posthemorrhagic period
Management of Hyponatremia
- Administration of large volumes of hypotonic fluids and intravascular volume contraction should generally be avoided after SAH
- Monitoring volume status in certain patients with recent SAH using some combination of central venous pressure, pulmonary artery wedge pressure, fluid balance, and body weight is reasonable, as is treatment of volume contraction with isotonic fluids
- The use of fludrocortisone acetate and hypertonic saline is reasonable for correcting hyponatremia
- In some instances, it may be reasonable to reduce fluid administration to maintain a euvolemic state
Guidelines for the Management of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From a Special Writing Group of the Stroke Council, American Heart Association
Stroke 2009;40;994-1025 (Full Text)
Other AHA Stroke Guidelines
Epinephrine and Dexamethasone in Children with Bronchiolitis
A multicentre double blind trial in 800 infants with bronchiolitis aged between 6 weeks and 12 months compared placebo with nebulised adrenaline, oral dexamethasone, or both. Only the combination led to a decrease in the primary endpoint of reduced hospital admission up to 7 days after enrollment, with an absolute risk reduction of 9% (from 26 to 17%). They also found an apparent benefit from combined therapy on their secondary outcomes: infants in the combined treatment group were discharged earlier from medical care and resumed quiet breathing and normal feeding sooner than did those in the placebo group. When the analysis was adjusted for multiple comparisons, the apparent benefit did not reach statistical significance, leading the authors to recommend further study.
Epinephrine and Dexamethasone in Children with Bronchiolitis
N Engl J Med. 2009 May 14;360(20):2079-89
Plasma:red cell transfusion ratio in trauma
In major trauma patients who require blood transfusion, fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to packed red blood cell (RBC) ratios of up to 1:1 have been associated with reduced mortality in retrospective studies, which may be in part due to survival bias (some patients die before they can be given as much FFP as the survivors).
To eliminate this bias, Australian researchers reviewed 331 trauma patients receiving at least 5 units of red cells in the first 4 hours, with a median Injury Severity Score of 36. When deaths in the first 24 hours were excluded, FFP:RBC ratio had no association with mortality. They conclude that prospective randomised controlled trials are needed.
Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) use during massive blood transfusion in trauma resuscitation
Injury. 2010 Jan;41(1):35-9
ScvO2 in sepsis: high is bad too
ScvO2 values are obtained by measuring the oxygen saturation in venous blood returning to the heart, and reflect the balance between oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption.
Low (<70%) ScvO2 values were targeted by Rivers in his Early Goal Directed Therapy study: by improving the macrocirculation with fluids, vasoactive drugs, and packed red cells the aim is to improve oxygen delivery to tissues, and therefore a higher oxygen saturation is found in the venous blood returning to the heart in adequately resuscitated patients. The story is more complex, however, as mechanisms of oxygen supply (macrocirculatory flow), distribution (microcirculatory flow), and processing (mitochondrial function) must all function at an adequate level to maintain normal physiology.
Although low ScvO2 values may be a marker for macrocirculatory failure, high ScvO2 values may reflect microcirculatory or mitochondrial failure.
A multicentre study demonstrated a higher mortality on patients whose ScvO2 in the ED was high (90-100%) compared with those with a normal ScvO2.
Mortality associated with three groups according to their highest recorded ScvO2 in the ED was:
Hypoxia group (ScvO2 <70%) – 40% mortality (95% CI 29-53)
Normoxia group (ScvO2 71-89%) – 21% mortality (95% CI 17-25)
Hyperoxia group (ScvO2 90-100%) – 34% mortality (95% CI 25-44)
The study design could not control for many potential confounders, but this opens the door for further study, and reminds us that the unthinking pursuit of a single physiological target may miss the bigger clinical picture.
Multicenter Study of Central Venous Oxygen Saturation (ScvO2) as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients With Sepsis
Annals of Emergency Medicine 2010;55(1):40-46
Levosimendan in beta blocker overdose
Not a human study, but toxicology RCTS rarely are…
Levosimendan – a calcium sensitiser with inotropic properties, was superior to dobutamine and to saline placebo in the end points of survival, cardiac output, and mean arterial pressure in anaesthetised pigs with propranolol overdose.
Levosimendan as a Rescue Drug in Experimental Propranolol- Induced Myocardial Depression: A Randomized Study
Ann Emerg Med. 2009 Dec;54(6):811-817
External jugular vein a tricky one
Emergency medicine residents and paramedics cannulated patients who were anaesthetised. The external jugular vein (EJV) took longer to cannulate and had a higher failure rate than an antecubital vein. More than a quarter of the paramedics and a third of the doctors failed to cannulate the EJV.
Is external jugular vein cannulation feasible in emergency care? A randomised study in open heart surgery patients
Resuscitation. 2009 Dec;80(12):1361-4
IO in OI
A case report describes three failed attempts to flush or secure an intraosseous needle placed using the EZ-IO drill during cardiac arrest of an adult patient subsequently noted to have osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type III. While not listed as a contraindication to EZ-IO use by the manufacturer, one should consider that OI may result in procedural failure.
Intraosseous access in osteogenesis imperfecta (IO in OI)
Resuscitation. 2009 Dec;80(12):1442-3
DC shock? I want my blankie!
A blanket made of nonconducting material was used to allow CPR to continue during defibrillation of arrested swine. Coronary perfusion pressure was maintained when the blanket was used
but fell when there was a hands-off interruption for defibrillation. Also, the defibrillation threshold was significantly lower when the blanket was used. A good idea, although even the authors point out that “Thus far, medical literature has not reported any rescuer or bystander serious injury from receiving an inadvertent shock while in direct or indirect contact with a patient while performing CPR“
The resuscitation blanket: A useful tool for “hands-on” defibrillation
Resuscitation. 2010 Feb;81(2):230-23
Precordial thump
The precordial thump is recommended for witnessed and monitored ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) cardiac arrest when a defibrillator is not immediately available.
Haman et al investigated the precordial thump in patients in whom VT or VF was initiated during an electrophysiological study, applying a single thump after initiation of ventricular arrhythmia in 155 patients. This terminated the tachycardia in two (1.3%) patients.
Pellis et al investigated the precordial thump as an initial measure by paramedics in 144 patients in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, irrespective of the initial rhythm. Three patients had return of spontaneous circulation and two were discharged alive.
Precordial thump efficacy in termination of induced ventricular arrhythmias
Resuscitation 2009;80:14–6
Utility of pre-cordial thump for treatment of out of hospital cardiac arrest: a prospective study
Resuscitation 2009;80:17–23