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Copyright of Revista Española de Cardiología (18855857) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses various predictions of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks using demographic and clinical characteristics. Receiving shocks is a physically painful and emotionally distressing event experienced by those living with an ICD. Past predictors of receiving an ICD shock include inducible monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT). Inappropriate ICD shocks can be caused by problems associated with the device, such as lead failure, and physical damage to the device.

Background and objective: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation should not be interrupted until the return of spontaneous circulation or the decision to withhold further treatment. There are no data on how consistent in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to identify length and type of unnecessary interruptions in simulated cardiac arrests. Methods: The study was carried out in a patient simulator. A scenario of cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation was used. Resuscitation teams consisted of three nurses, a resident and a staff physician. Using videotapes recorded during simulations, the activities of the teams were coded in 5-s intervals. Unnecessary interruptions were defined as any interruptions in cardiac massage of 10s or more that were not caused by defibrillation or endotracheal intubation. Results: Twelve teams were studied. The total time of possible cardiac massage was 414 ± 125 s. In each team at least one unnecessary interruption occurred (range 1–5). Interruptions mounted up to 65 ± 40s (range 20–155) or 16 ± 10% (range 5–41) of the total time of possible cardiac massage. Failure to swiftly resume cardiac massage after an unsuccessful defibrillation accounted for 14 of 39 episodes and for 44 ± 40% of the time of unnecessary interruptions. The debriefings revealed that participants had generally not noticed the unnecessary interruptions during the simulation. Conclusions: The present study identified a significant amount of unnecessary interruptions in cardiac massage. These interruptions were not noticed by the health-care workers involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]