Racial/ethnic differences in bystander CPR in Los Angeles, California.

Background: Bystander CPR (BCPR) has been demonstrated to improve rates of return of spontaneous circulation, survival to hospital admission, and quality of life in survivors. While previous studies have shown that African Americans are less likely to receive BCPR than Caucasians even after adjusting for variables such as socioeconomic status, BCPR rates in Latinos have not been reported.

Objective: To describe BCPR rates in an urban African American and Latino population as compared to Caucasians.

Empiric acyclovir is infrequently initiated in the emergency department to patients ultimately diagnosed with encephalitis.

Study Objective: We evaluate the frequency of empiric acyclovir administration to patients in the emergency department (ED) who are ultimately diagnosed with encephalitis.

Methods: We conducted an explicit retrospective medical record review of consecutive patients discharged with a final diagnosis of herpes simplex encephalitis or viral encephalitis not otherwise specified for the period 1993 to 2003. The frequency of ED administration of empiric acyclovir was measured for patients who met the inclusion criteria of fever, neuropsychiatric abnormality, and cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis with a negative Gram's stain result in the ED.