Chest compression-only CPR by lay rescuers and survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Context: Chest compression-only bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be as effective as conventional CPR with rescue breathing for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Objective: To investigate the survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using compression-only CPR (COCPR) compared with conventional CPR.

Design, Setting, And Patients: A 5-year prospective observational cohort study of survival in patients at least 18 years old with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009, in Arizona.

The role of intraosseous vascular access in the out-of-hospital environment (resource document to NAEMSP position statement).

Thousands of critically ill emergency patients are treated in the out-of-hospital setting in the United States every year. In many patients intravenous (IV) therapy cannot be initiated because of inadequate access to peripheral veins. In some cases, this lack of vascular access may limit benefit of medications because of late administration.

Prehospital use of aspirin rarely is associated with adverse events.

Introduction: Aspirin is commonly administered for acute coronary syndromes in the prehospital setting. Few studies have addressed the incidence of adverse effects associated with prehospital administration of aspirin.

Objective: To determine the incidence of adverse events following the administration of aspirin by prehospital personnel.