Related Experiment Videos
[Prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: what makes it possible?]
Objective:
To identify the logistical-organizational characteristics which affect the survival results of pre-hospital resuscitation in MSC cases.
Design:
Retrospective study.
Location:
7 Mobile ICUs in the province of Ciudad Real activated for all types of emergency.
Patients:
Those which between July 1987 and July 1990 suffered loss of pulse and respiration, without a record and/or risk factors which suggested a cause other than coronary. MAIN RESULTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Advanced Vital Support measures carried out "in situ". Immediate survival was evaluated, which was 12% (22 of 185 cases of MSC). Of 94 cases which occurred in the presence of witnesses, survival was 17.2%, which is not significant. 44 cases where RCPb treatment was carried out by witnesses, the survival rate was 20.45%, which is not significantly different from the overall figure. A delay of over 2 minutes in witnesses calling 006 resulted in survival of 5.5 times less (p = 0.001). Each minute of delay equalled survival of 7 points less which is significant.
Conclusions:
For the Mobile ICU service to be effective in RCP of MSC cases, it is not essential, according to our results, for witnesses to know RCPb techniques, but it is essential that they phone for help immediately and that the Mobile ICU is capable of reaching the patient in a short space of time, 15 minutes being the maximum limit.