Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

In Patients With Cardiac Arrest, Does Early Defibrillation Reduce Mortality?, Nicholas Lueddecke

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Cardiac arrest is a devastating disorder that affects millions of people each year. Often having a sudden onset, cardiac arrest is almost certainly lethal if prompt treatment is not started. In hopes to both better understand how treatment of cardiac arrest has evolved and to quantitatively measure the outcome of defibrillation, multiple pieces of literature have been reviewed.

Methods: Articles were found that were pertinent by using PubMed and Google Scholar. Literature was obtained that researched a wide spectrum of topics relating to defibrillation and cardiac arrest that did not focus on traumatic cardiac arrests as it is beyond …

In Developing Countries, Does The Implementation Of Basic Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation Education In The Community Improve Patient Outcomes?, Ashley Gross

Theses and Graduate Projects

Circulatory shock and cardiovascular diseases contribute to significant mortality globally, with an increased burden in developing countries. The compilation of these studies and anecdotal support gathered while in Nicaragua supports the impact education on high-quality CPR among the community can have on out-of- hospital cardiac arrest patient outcomes. Even though some studies showed guideline-compliant CPR does not improve all patient outcomes, we cannot estimate the time it will take a patient to achieve ROSC. Therefore, educating the public and refining the skills of health care professionals can have a significant positive impact on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient outcomes if there …

Effects Of A First Responders Automatic External Defibrillator (Aed) Program On Patient Outcomes In A Rural Emergency Medical Service System, Michael D. Olson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background For patients in cardiac arrest the most important variable in survival is rapid activation of emergency medical services to provide early defibrillation. Previous studies have indicated that for the greatest chance of survival the patient must be defibrillated within six minutes of collapse. In September of 2002 the Fairmont police department placed AED's in the medical kits of their officers in an effort to improve the chances of survival for the cardiac arrest patients in the city. This study is an attempt to gauge the success of this AED program by Iooking at multiple variables in the care of …