A description of echocardiography in life support use during cardiac arrest in an Emergency Department before and after a training programme

Abstract

Use of ELS significantly increased after the training day most commonly supporting a decision to stop resuscitation. This change in practice has been maintained.

Training paramedics in focussed echo in life support

“…A previous study by our group showed that on occasion ED physicians detected VF on ELS that was not recognized on ECG and also VF and ventricular tachycardia that commenced during the pulse check while ELS was ongoing and therefore needed to be defibrillated [19].…”

Myocardial dysfunction after cardiac arrest: tips and pitfalls

“…Indeed, it allows physicians to orientate the etiology of shock, to identify LV systolic dysfunction and to guide the administration of catecholamines. Of note, a recent metanalysis reported a substantial agreement between emergency department-based clinician sonographers and expert sonographers for assessing LVEF using visual estimation [33,34].…”

Échographie et prise en charge de l’arrêt cardiaque

“…La mise en place de formation courte permet de modifier rapidement et durablement les pratiques. Preston et al rapportent une augmentation de 4 à 20 % (et même 31 %, six mois après la fin de l'étude) d'utilisation de l'échographie dans l'ACR après une formation d'un jour [39]. La réalisation d'analyse échocardiographique plus complète pose le problème de l'expérience du praticien puisqu'elle constitue le seul critère indépendant d'interprétabilité des images en préhospitalier [40,41].…”