A meta-analysis of three randomized trials found that chest-compression-only CPR was associated with an improved chance of survival (14 percent vs. 12 percent) compared to standard CPR when performed by a bystander being given instructions by a dispatcher. Yet a meta-analysis of seven observational studies of bystander CPR without dispatcher assistance found no difference in the chances of survival between the two techniques.
To conduct the meta-analysis, which pools data from previous research, the authors did a review of the bystander CPR studies published between January 1985 and August 2010. The researchers concluded: “For adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, instructions to bystanders from emergency medical services dispatch should focus on chest-compression-
only CPR.” But for unassisted lay rescuers, the jury is still out on whether chest-compression-only CPR is best.
The study was in the Nov. 6, 2010, issue of the Lancet.
More Medicaid Patients Getting Admitted to Hospital
If you feel like you’re transporting more Medicaid and uninsured patients than ever, you may be right. Hospital admissions of patients covered by Medicaid rose by 30 percent between 1997 and 2008, while hospital admissions for the uninsured rose by 27 percent. During the same time period, hospital admissions for those covered by private insurance rose only by 5 percent, according to statistics released Jan. 20 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The number of Medicaid-covered patient hospitalizations rose from 5.6 million to 7.4 million; the uninsured went from 1.7 million to 2.1 million; and the privately insured rose from 13.4 million to 14.1 million.
If the Game Is Close, Traffic Fatalities Rise
After a big win and a close score, traffic fatalities rise for fans of the winning team, according to a study to be published in the December 2011 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina analyzed traffic fatalities after 271 professional and college football and basketball games played between 2001 and 2008. The games included championship, tournament and rivalry match-ups in which fans would be deeply invested in the outcomes, according to the researchers. The analysis included fatalities in the areas where the game was played and the hometowns of the winning and losing teams.
Researchers also used a panel of experts to rate how close each game was on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being a “nail-biter,” according to a North Carolina State news release.
The closer the game, the more likely fatalities were to occur among fans of the winning team, according to the study. Each one-point increase in the closeness rating was associated with a 21 percent increase in fatal accidents at the game site. Games that were the most closely contested had a 133 percent increase in fatalities compared to games rated a 1, or a “blow out,” according to the release.
Researchers found that the increase in fatalities occurred at the site of the competition or in the hometown of the winning team, but not the losing team. “This pattern of results is important in that it suggests that the cause of the relationship might be associated with competition-induced testosterone,” says lead study author Stacy Wood, Ph.D., a professor of marketing at NC State.
Prior research has shown that traffic fatalities increase in the hours following the Super Bowl, according to the news release.
Room For Improvement with ET Intubation Success Rates
About 77 percent of EMS attempts at endotracheal intubation (ETI) are successful, according to a new study that looked at data from more than 10,000 intubation attempts in 16 states. The finding “hints at the need for organized national efforts to improve out-of-hospital airway management quality,” the researchers write.
The study also found geographic differences in success rates. ETI success was lower in suburban areas (73.4 percent) than rural areas (77 percent), and lower in the South (71 percent) than the Midwest (83.5 percent), Northeast (85 percent) and West (80 percent).
Researchers used data from a total of 88,000 patients who needed all types of airway interventions in 2008 in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oklahoma. The data are part of the National Emergency Medical Services Information System Public-Release Data Set. The study is in the April issue of Resuscitation.
Firefighter Obesity Rates Higher than General Population
Obesity and overweight rates in firefighters and firefighter/paramedics is higher than in the general population, new research shows.
Researchers calculated the body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and waist circumference of 677 male career and volunteer firefighters from the Midwest. (A BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight; 30 and up is obese. Waist circumference is a measure of abdominal fat, which is linked to obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.) The average BMI for all firefighters was about 28, well in the overweight range. Nearly 80 percent of career firefighters were overweight and 34 percent were obese. About 78 percent of volunteer firefighters were overweight and 43 percent were obese.
That compares to about 68 percent of U.S. adults who are overweight and about 34 percent who are obese.
Previous research has shown that firefighters who are too heavy are at higher risk of obesity-related diseases. One study showed that 15 percent of firefighters met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of diabetes, heart attacks and stroke. Other studies have found overweight firefighters are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths; one found that obese firefighters are at significantly higher risk for disability compared to their normal-weight peers.
Yet some firefighter websites claim that BMI, a measure of body fat based on height and weight, isn’t accurate in very muscular people. Researchers say they addressed this by using multiple measures of body fat, including waist circumference.
The data are from an ongoing study examining risk factors for injury in career and volunteer firefighters in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The average age of the career firefighters was about 38; the average age of volunteers was about 40. The study is in the April issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Calculate your BMI here: nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.
AEDs Are Accurate in Helicopters
Three commercial brands of AEDs worked with perfect accuracy while in the air on medical helicopters, new research finds.
Prior research in animals and mannequins has suggested that vibrations from the road in moving ambulances might confuse AEDS and prevent the devices from correctly analyzing heart rhythms, according to background information in the study by Korean researchers. However, that doesn’t seem to be a concern in helicopters. The researchers attached three brands of AEDs to one (very brave) human volunteer and found that the devices analyzed heart rhythms correctly and did not deliver shocks incorrectly. The AEDs also did their job correctly on a mannequin that is able to simulate heart-rhythm disturbances. The study is in the April issue of Resuscitation.
