Emergency Medicine Commons^™

Bystander Performance Using Automated External Defibrillators During Simulated Cardiac Arrest, Richard N. Bradley, Lynda M. Schoenstein, Wesley H. Hamilton, Mark R. Boyle

Richard N Bradley

Objective: Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are becoming widely available to the public. This study examined the hypothesis that less than 75% of the general population can defibrillate using an AED in less than three minutes.

Methods: This was a survey of the behavior of individuals over age 12 in a major airport on Jan. 2–3, 2003. After obtaining consent, an investigator told the subject that he/she was walking down the concourse and saw a person collapse. The subject demonstrated his/her response, using only a telephone and an AED simulating ventricular fibrillation. Data were analyzed using a one-sample test of proportions. …

Emergency Department Ultrasound Probe Infection Control: Challenges And Solutions, Hamid A. Shokoohi, Paige Armstrong, Ryan Tansek

Emergency Medicine Faculty Publications

Point-of-care ultrasound (US) has become a cornerstone in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the emergency department (ED). Despite the beneficial impact on patient care, concern exists over repeat use of probes and the role as a vector for pathogen transmission. US probes are used for various applications, with the level of infection risk, based on the Spaulding Classification, ranging from noncritical with common practice to semicritical with endocavitary probes. To date, the most closely studied organisms are Staphylococcus aureus and human papilloma virus. Current evidence does confirm probe colonization but has not established a causative role in human …