To shock or not to shock - the accuracy of cardiac arrest rhythm assessment by paramedics in a simulated environment.

Purpose: Defibrillation in shockable rhythm is a well-known key intervention in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aim of this study was to analyze accuracy (the sum of the numbers of true positive results and true negative results, divided by the number of total results) of deciding by paramedics whether the rhythm was shockable or non-shockable.

Methods: In this study 103 paramedics from various regions of Poland participated voluntarily.

The amount of calcium in calcium chloride - Is there a need to clarify emergency treatment of hyperkalaemia algorithm?

European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines emphasize a rapid administration of calcium chloride (10 ml 10 % CaCl) to protect the myocardium in the hyperkalaemia algorithm. However, calcium chloride preparations available in European markets vary from country to country. In our opinion, the drug dose recommended in the guidelines should not raise questions about the volume and amount of calcium in the intravenous supply and should be unambiguous to minimize the risk of error.