The impact of response time reliability on CPR incidence and resuscitation success: a benchmark study from the German Resuscitation Registry.

Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the most frequent causes of death in the world. In highly qualified emergency medical service (EMS) systems, including well trained emergency physicians, spontaneous circulation may be restored in up to 53% of patients at least until admission to hospital. Compared with these highly qualified EMS systems, in other systems markedly lower success rates are observed.

The C-MAC videolaryngoscope for prehospital emergency intubation: a prospective, multicentre, observational study.

Background: In this preliminary prospective observational study at four physician-led air rescue centres, the efficacy of the C-MAC (Karl Storz, Tuttlingen, Germany), a new portable videolaryngoscope, was evaluated during prehospital emergency endotracheal intubations.

Methods: 80 consecutive patients requiring prehospital emergency intubation, treated by a physician introduced in the use of the C-MAC were enrolled in this study.

Results: Indication for prehospital intubation was trauma in 45 cases (including maxillo-facial trauma in 10 cases), cardiopulmonary resuscitation in 14 cases, and unconsciousness of neurological aetiology and cardiogenic dyspnoea in 21 cases.

[Case Report: prehospital treatment on a major injured motorcycle driver].

This case report describes the prehospital care of a 42-year-old person damaged by a severe motorcycle accident in a rural scene. The injured person was unconscious, one pupil was dilated and rib fractures were palpable. Purposeful therapy without delay was necessary.

[Non-invasive ventilation in prehospital emergency medicine - contra].

The non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been practiced successfully for years in the clinical routine. Now this therapeutic option should be transferred in the pre hospital emergency service. But there are many risks, they must be mentioned: As a matter of fact an effective clinical therapy can not be brought to the streets easily - even if there are good and well-tried conservative therapies and just at last just a few patients.

[Inter-hospital transfer of patients in intensive care treatment. A systematic review].

An obvious trend of concentrating treatment options on specialized centres may take effect later in an increased need for inter-hospital transfer. Patients initially referred to secondary or tertiary hospitals require a safe and systematically organised transport in order to ensure a continuation of initiated actions in intensive care. This review will focus of appropriate preparations, equipment and transport modalities, possible sources of shortcomings as well as solutions of conflicts during inter-hospital transfers.

[Case report: prehospital therapy of the severely burned patient].

On the basis of a case report the prehospital management of severely burned patients is discussed. The prevention of hypovolemia, hypothermia or hypoxemia are the primary targets. It is necessary to estimate the burn size and depth.

[Case report: severe polytrauma after traffic accident].

This case report describes the prehospital care of a person with severe polytrauma due to being jammed in a vehicle in a traffic accident. After understanding the forces involved in causing the trauma, the therapy of impaired vital functions is demonstrated with particular regard to time management. Use of a rescue helicopter allowed for minimizing the delay to initial treatment as well as the duration of transport.

[Hypothermia after cardiac arrest--daily trained clinical practice? A survey at northern Germany hospitals].

Hypothermia after out of hospital cardiac arrest should be clinical practice for years. But is it really meanwhile daily trained practice? A survey at northern German hospitals gives an answer to this question.