20 years ago when I was an EMT-Intermediate, we used a device called an EOA (esophageal obdurator airway). The airway was designed to occlude the esophagus, thus enabling supraglottic ventilation. The main problem with the EOA was sometimes instead of going in the esophagus, it ended up in the trachea and was not recognized. I […]

So 90 minutes is the goal? But is there anything magic about the 90 minute time? And how much better or worse does someone do if they get to the cath lab earlier or later than the 90 minutes?

“In summary, the use of vasopressin alone or in combination with epinephrine as the first line vasopressors during resuscitation from cardiac arrest offers no benefit related to short- and long-term survival compared to the use of epinephrine alone.”

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for the Street and Smith’s Annual Baseball issue to hit the newsstand so I could check out how their experts thought the Red Sox would be in that coming Spring — what was the projected lineup? Who were the hot rookies? Who would win the pennant?…Now I wait every five years for the American Heart Association’s ECC Guidelines. What kind of CPR will we be doing? Any changes in ALS drugs?

Do ACLS medications make any difference in cardiac arrest?…Now a new study has come out that makes the best attempt yet to answer this crucial question, as well as another question I have often wondered about. “If the drugs aren’t doing any good, is it the drugs’ fault or perhaps the fault of poor CPR?”