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MRI-based prognostication of comatose cardiac arrest survivors has shown promising results. However, the technique has not been validated in patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia and it is unknown how it might add to NSE-based prognostication. We sought to evaluate the prognostic performance of regional apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients treated with mild hypothermia and its added value to NSE-based prognostication.An OHCA registry was analyzed to identify OHCA patients older than 15 who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia and underwent brain MRI between 2008 and 2011. Quantitative measurement of regional ADCs was performed by a radiologist blinded to the clinical outcome.Of the 43 eligible patients, 11 (18.6 %) achieved a good outcome (6-month CPC of 1 or 2). The regional ADC of the occipital cortex showed the highest discriminatory power with an area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of 0.943 (95 % CI, 0.872-1.000) and predicted poor outcomes with a sensitivity of 90.6 % and a specificity of 100 %. The AUROC for NSE levels (48-h) was 0.911 (95 % CI, 0.801-1.000) which was significantly correlated with the regional ADC (Pearson's r = -0.674, p.001). The ADC-based predictions identified an additional 5 (35.7 %) poor outcome patients out of 14 with 48-h NSE levels less than 78.9 ng/mL, which is the cutoff point suggested in a previous study. However, additional prognostic information was not provided when the 48-h NSE levels were78.9 ng/mL.Regional ADC-based prognostication was accurate in OHCA patients who were treated with mild hypothermia. However, it only provided additional prognostic information when the 48-h NSE levels indicated a good prognosis (48-h NSE78.9 ng/mL).

Aim of the study: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a worldwide problem associated with adverse outcomes. This study was performed to investigate the association between ED overcrowding and outcome and quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods: Prospectively collected data including patient demographics, Utstein factors and outcomes on 608 consecutive OHCA patients at a single ED from January 2008 to December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were categorized into 4 groups according to ED occupancy rate. The primary outcome was resuscitation outcome, a composite of rates of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival at discharge and neurological outcome at 6 months. The secondary outcome was resuscitation quality assessed by time to advanced airway, time to first drug administration, resuscitation duration in refractory cases and rate of initiation of therapeutic hypothermia after ROSC in the ED. Results: There was no significant difference in rates of ROSC, survival at discharge and good neurological outcome according to ED occupancy rate in the univariate and multivariate analyses (p > 0.05). In addition, ED overcrowding was not associated with resuscitation quality (p > 0.05). Conclusion: ED overcrowding was not associated with outcome of OHCA or resuscitation quality.

Nonlinear governing equations used to analyze the handling of a ground vehicle are derived from the Lagrange equations of motion. The derived equations are coded using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) embedded in Microsoft’s Excel Software and simulated in the time domain using the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method. A total of six degrees of freedom are used in the equations; three of these are the directional translation, lateral translation, and yaw of a platform (unsprung) on the base of an inertial ground coordinate, and the other three are the roll, pitch, and yaw of a body (sprung) by a platform-fixed coordinate. Four driving torques and four wheel angles of all tires are used as input control parameters. A simplified Calspan tire model is adopted for the generalized forces of the equations. This is a combined model that can be used to obtain tractional (or braking) and side forces using the inputs of the directional and side-slip ratios and the vertical force. The VBA code realized in this study is validated by comparisons with trimmed equilibrium results and the test data cited in published papers. The major characteristics of this study are: (1) the coordinate systems of the equations are mixed with the inertial frame and the platform-fixed frame, and, as a result, almost all types of driving conditions with long mileages can be simulated; (2) vertical movement is eliminated due the focus on the handling analysis; (3) the body-yaw degree of freedom is separated from the platform-yaw degree of freedom; and (4) the programming is performed by VBA, which is rarely used in the vehicle dynamics field.

Objective Patients usually receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation during ventilatory expiration and with their arms down, which does not reflect the normal imaging position. This study used scout images from low-dose chest computed tomography to compare the locations of the left ventricle (LV) in the expiration with arms down position (EAD) and in the full inspirational with arms raised position (IAR). Methods This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample and evaluated scout images that were obtained during screening with the participants in the EAD and IAR positions. The effective compression point was defined as being on the sternum above the longest anteroposterior diameter (APD) of the LV (using axial computed tomography images). The sternum was divided into three parts and the heart’s position was evaluated on the EAD and the IAR images, and the distance from the xiphoid process to the LV’s sternum landmark (XLVD) was measured. We also examined the compressible organs during CPR based on the EAD and IAR images. Results We enrolled 127 participants. The LVs were located in the middle of the sternum at EAD for 117 participants (92%) and in the lower half of the sternum at IAR for 107 participants (84%). The mean XLVD was significantly different between the EAD and IAR positions (mean: 85 ± 21 mm vs. 33 ± 17 mm, respectively). The liver’s left lobe was located in the lower half of the sternum at EAD for 118 participants (93%). Conclusions These findings indicate that the location of the LV during cardiopulmonary resuscitation might be in the middle of the sternum if the patient is treated in the EAD position.

The objective of the present study is to develop new multifaceted interventions to reduce return visits (RVs) based on identified risk factors related to RVs in the ED and to compare the RV rate before and after the implementation of the intervention.The present study was a controlled before and after study that was conducted in the ED of a 900-bed tertiary hospital in an urban area. The primary outcome was the rate of unplanned RVs to the ED and hospital admission after RV. The risk and predictive factors of RVs were identified by a retrospective study of all unscheduled RVs to the ED within 72 h in 2011. We developed five new multifaceted interventions based on the results: (i) daily RV feedback; (ii) prescription set of drugs; (iii) creation of a discharge instruction sheet; (iv) early follow-up appointments of outpatient department (OPD); and (v) enhancement of referral system. A prospective interventional study in which the interventions were implemented was then conducted over 10 months, from 1 June 2012 to 31 March 2013.The five new multifaceted interventions significantly reduced the mean early RV rate and RV admission rate after ED discharge by an average of approximately 25%, with a maximum of approximately 55% and 47%, respectively, compared with the pre-intervention period (RV rate: P0.001, RV admission rate: P0.001).Multifaceted interventions based on identified risk factors for early RV after ED discharge had a positive effect on reducing RVs and the admission rate after RVs for adult patients within 72 h of non-traumatic ED visits.

Objective Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a worldwide problem associated with adverse outcomes. This study was performed to investigate the association between ED overcrowding and the outcomes and quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods Prospectively collected data including patients' demographics, Utstein factors, and outcomes on 608 consecutive OHCA patients at a single ED from January 2008 to December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were categorized into 4 groups according to ED occupancy rate. The primary outcome was resuscitation outcome, a composite of rates of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival at discharge, and neurologic outcome at 6 months. The secondary outcome was resuscitation quality assessed by time to advanced airway, time to first drug administration, resuscitation duration in refractory cases, and rate of initiation of therapeutic hypothermia after ROSC in the ED. Results There was no significant difference in rates of ROSC, survival at discharge, and good neurologic outcome according to ED occupancy rate in the univariate and multivariate analyses (P > .05). In addition, ED overcrowding was not associated with resuscitation quality (P > .05). Conclusion Emergency department overcrowding was not associated with the outcomes of OHCA or resuscitation quality.

Purpose Adequate chest compression (CC) depth is critical for effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pediatric resuscitation guidelines recommend that CC be at least one-third of the anterior-posterior (AP) chest diameter or approximately 4 cm in infants and 5 cm in children. We aimed to find a better indicator of CC depth that maximizes CC depth while also minimizing injury. Basic procedures Chest computed tomographic images of patients aged 8 years and younger were measured for external diameter (ED) (AP distance from skin to skin) and internal diameter (AP distance between internal surface of anterior chest wall and anterior surface of vertebral body) at the midway of the lower half of the sternum. Compressible depth was defined as 1 cm short of internal diameter. We determined that up to a 10% estimated risk of overcompression is acceptable and approximated a quantile regression line for the 10th percentile of compressible depth on ED. After rounding coefficients, we used its equation as a new indicator. Main findings A total of 426 images were analyzed. The new indicator had a slope of 0.5 and an intercept of −1.9 cm (1 fingerbreadth). Compared to one-third ED, the new indicator would provide deeper CC with average difference of 1.9 mm (95% confidence interval, 1.6-2.2 mm) without increasing the risk of overcompression (both 4.9%). Chest compression of 4/5 cm would provide deeper CC compared to the new indicator (difference, 3.5 mm; 95% confidence interval, 2.7-4.1 mm); however, its overcompression risk was too high (31.5%). Principal conclusion Chest compression of one-half ED minus 1 fingerbreadth maximizes CC depth without increasing overcompression in pediatric population.

Background: Heart failure (HF) has been associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke. However, there are limited data regarding stroke risk among patients with HF and sinus rhythm. This population-based study estimated the risk of stroke and thromboembolism for patients with HF in the

Objective Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) is useful for evaluation of acute chest pain in the emergency department (ED). Though the test needs proper interpretation by someone with expertise in cardiovascular imaging, the critical nature of the information the test provides frequently lead emergency physicians (EPs) to act on their own interpretation. We performed this study to assess how often EPs’ interpretations are in agreement with radiologists’. Methods This study is a prospective observational study. The target population was patients assessed with CCT for acute chest pain or discomfort. EPs with at least one year CCT experience underwent a one-hour training session before study participation. The most significant lesion, if any, in each arterial segment was assessed for coronary stenosis and plaque calcification. The agreement between EPs’ and radiologists’ interpretation was assessed with Cohen’s kappa and Gwet’s AC1. Results One hundred and three patients were enrolled and 412 segments were analyzed. Stenosis grading was identical in 363 segments (88.1%) and the interrater agreement was good (kappa=0.6439, AC1=0.8810). Similarly, the plaque calcification grading was identical in 354 segments (86.6%) and the kappa and AC1 values were 0.5660 and 0.8501, respectively. EPs classified 6 of the 17 arterial segments with significant stenosis reported by radiologists as non-significant stenosis (n=5) or clear (n=2), all of which were proved to be significant by following subsequent invasive coronary angiography. Conclusion There was substantial discordance of CCT interpretation between EPs and radiologists. For now, EPs need more education prior to independent CCT reading.

Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes of patients with hanging-induced cardiac arrest who underwent therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Method In this multicenter, retrospective registry-based study, discharged patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and treatment with TH were enrolled between June 2007 and March 2013. Several prehospital and hospital variables were examined for an outcome analysis with multivariable logistic regression. Results A total of 964 patients who had cardiac arrest were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent TH during post-cardiac arrest care after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Of all patients, 105 were assigned to the hanging group and 859 to the non-hanging group. Six patients (6%) with good neurologic outcomes (Cerebral Performance Category 1 or 2) in the hanging group at the time of discharge were found. A shorter time interval between witnessed arrest and ROSC and a Glasgow Coma Scale over 4 after ROSC are statistically significant variables of good neurologic outcomes after hanging-induced cardiac arrest treated with TH. Conclusion A small number of patients who underwent TH after a hanging-induced cardiac arrest provided good neurologic outcomes, and some variables influenced these outcomes.

Cerebral injuries after cardiac arrest are serious causes for morbidity. Many previous researches in the medical society have been proposed to prognosticate the functional recoveries of post-resuscitated patients after cardiac arrest, but the validity of suggested features and the automation of prognostication have not been made yet. This paper presents the automatic classification method which predicts the potential clinical outcomes of post-resuscitated patients who suffered from cardiac arrest. The global features and the local features are adapted from the researches from the medical society. The global features, which are consisted of the percentage of the partial volume under the uniformly increasing thresholds, represent the global tendency of apparent diffusion coefficient value in a DWI. The local features are localized and measured on the refined local apparent diffusion coefficient minimal points. The local features represent the ischemic change of small areas in a brain. The features are trained and classified by the random forest method, which have been widely used in the machine learning society for classification. The validity of features is automatically evaluated during the classification process. The proposed method achieved the 0.129 false-positive rate while maintaining the perfect true-positive rate. The area-under-curve of the proposed method was 0.9516, which showed the feasibility and the robustness of the proposed method.

Objective Recent studies suggested quantitative analysis of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging as a promising tool for early prognostication of cardiac arrest patients. However, most of their methods involve significant manual image handling often subjective and difficult to reproduce. Therefore developing a computerized analysis method using easy-to-define characteristics would be useful. Methods Comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients who underwent brain MRI between January 2008 and July 2012 were identified from an OHCA registry. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) axial images were analyzed using a program to detect and characterize clusters of low ADC pixels from six brain regions including frontal, occipital, parietal, rolandic and temporal and basal ganglia region. Identified clusters were ranked according to size, mean ADC and minimum ADC to assess the regional maximum cluster size (MCS), lowest mean ADC (LMEAN) and lowest minimum ADC (LMIN). Their power to predict poor outcome, defined as 6-month CPC 3 or higher, was assessed by contingency table analyses. Results 51 OHCA patients were eligible during the study period. The sensitivities of MCS, LMEAN and LMIN to detect poor outcome varied according to brain region from 62.5 to 90.0%, 50.0 to 72.5% and 42.5 to 82.5% with their specificities set to 100%, respectively. The MCS of occipital region showed most favorable test profile (sensitivity 90%, specificity 100%; AUROC 0.940, 95% confidence interval 0.874–1.000). Conclusion The cluster-based computerized image analysis might be a simple but useful method for prediction of poor neurologic outcome. Future studies validating its prognostic performance are required.

Hemorrhagic shock, and subsequent resuscitation leads to global ischemia/reperfusion injury. It may result in multiple organ injury and death. Ischemic post-conditioning has been suggested to reduce organ injury. It may lead to gradual increase in tissue oxygen delivery and tissue acidosis may be reduced gradually. Gradual increase of blood pressure or blood flow in ischemic organs has been reported to decrease tissue injury. We propose that gradual and stepwise increase of blood pressure may decrease tissue injury and mortality in hemorrhagic shock by mimicking ischemic post-conditioning.

We sought to investigate the prognostic implication of early coagulopathy represented by initial DIC score in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).OHCA registry was analyzed to identify patients with ROSC without recent use of anticoagulant between 2008 and 2011. Patients were assessed for prehosptial factors, initial laboratory results and therapeutic hypothermia. Outcome variables were survival discharge, 6-month CPC and survival duration within the first week after ROSC. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used for both univariable and multivariable analysis.Among 273 eligible patients, initial DIC score was available in 252 (92.3%). Higher DIC score was associated with increased inhospital death (odds ratio [OR], 1.89 per unit; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-2.41) and unfavorable long-term outcome (6-month CPC 3-5; OR, 2.21 per unit; 95% CI, 1.60-3.05). The adjusted ORs for both outcomes were 1.61 (95% CI, 1.17-2.22) and 1.84 (95% CI, 1.26-2.67), respectively. We categorized DIC score in five groups as3, 3, 4, 5 and5 and analyzed differential mortality risk using Cox proportional hazards model. Compared with reference group (DIC score3), the adjusted HR for early mortality in each remaining group was 1.96 (95% CI, 1.13-3.40), 2.26 (95% CI, 1.27-4.02), 2.77 (95% CI, 1.58-4.85) and 4.29 (95% CI, 2.22-8.30), respectively (p-trend0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic of DIC score for prediction of unfavorable long-term outcome was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.69-0.88).Increased initial DIC score in OHCA was an independent predictor for poor outcomes and early mortality risk.

Post-resuscitation period is characterized by high early mortality due to post-cardiac arrest syndrome. Recent studies found that elevated red cell distribution width (RDW) is a strong predictor of mortality in critically ill patients. We investigated the prognostic significance of RDW in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) victims.Analysis of emergency department OHCA registry extending from January 2007 to December 2010 was conducted. Patients with ROSC were assessed for Utstein predictors including sex, age, arrest location, presence of witness, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, response time, initial rhythm and cause of arrest. RDW, hematocrit, white blood cell and platelet counts, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine and albumin were also obtained. Outcome variable was survival duration within 30 days. RDW was categorized in quartiles as13.2%, 13.2% to 14.0%, 14.1% to 15.4% and15.4%. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox-proportional hazard models in both univariate and multivariate analysis. All prognostic variables with their p value0.1 in univariate analysis were used in multivariate analysis for adjustment.Among 409 OHCA patients, 219 patients had ROSC. Highest RDW quartile (RDW15.4%), female sex, older age, non-shockable initial rhythm, increased BUN and creatinine and decreased albumin, hematocrit and platelet count were associated with increased mortality in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, the highest RDW quartile was independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR=1.95; 95% CI 1.05-3.60; p=0.034) during 30-day post-resuscitation period. Other significant variables were age, initial rhythm and serum albumin.Initial RDW is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in post-resuscitation patients.

Objectives: To determine the utility of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in patients with clinically evident acute appendicitis and to compare the test characteristics of overall clinical impression, Alvarado scores, and MDCT in suspected appendicitis. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted in two urban emergency departments (ED). Consecutive patients with suspected acute appendicitis were clinically evaluated by an emergency physician who was asked to determine whether appendicitis was clinically evident or not. Elements of the Alvarado scores were collected and all patients then underwent MDCT and a decision to operate, observe, or discharge the patients was made by a surgeon. The final diagnosis was based on surgical pathology or clinical follow-up. The test characteristics of clinical impression, Alvarado scores and MDCT were then calculated and the rates at which acute appendicitis was falsely diagnosed based on clinical impression and MDCT were compared using McNemar’s test. Results: Of 157 study patients, 71 were considered to have clinically evident appendicitis before MDCT and 91 had findings of acute appendicitis on MDCT. 19 of the 71 patients with clinically evident appendicitis did not have appendicitis. 14 of 52 patients with an Alvarado score ⩾8 also did not have appendicitis. Three of 91 patients with acute appendicitis based on MDCT did not have appendicitis. The specificities of clinical impression and Alvarado score ⩾8 were 71.6% and 79.1%, respectively, and these were significantly lower than that of MDCT (95.5%, p Conclusion: The performance of abdominal MDCT in patients with a high degree of clinical suspicion for acute appendicitis reduces the number of false positives and has the potential to reduce negative appendectomies.

A new and relatively simple endovascular technique, in which more than three microcatheters are used for endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms for the first time, is described.Eight patients with wide necked aneurysms were successfully treated with detachable coils using the multiple microcatheter technique. Three patients presented with subarachnoid haemorrhage and five were unruptured. The aneurysm locations were superior hypophyseal artery (2), posterior communicating artery (2), middle cerebral artery bifurcation (1), distal anterior cerebral artery (1), basilar artery (1) and vertebral artery (1). The average neck size was 7.4 +/- 2.8 mm (3.5-12 mm), average width of the aneurysms was 10.6 +/- 5.7 mm (6.2-23 mm) and depth was 8.9 +/- 5.8 mm (3-22 mm). Three microcatheters (7 patients) and four microcatheters (1 patient) were introduced and used for coil delivery. Three or four coils were deployed and intermingled to stabilize the whole coil mass as well as to occupy the aneurysmal sac. When a relatively stable coil frame was formed, one coil was detached and subsequent coils were inserted. After the coil mass became more stable, other coils were also detached and all microcatheters were used for subsequent coil deployment.All aneurysms were successfully treated without complications. Postemboilzation angiograms showed no contrast filling in 5 cases (100% occlusion) and a very small residual neck in 3 cases. There was no procedure related complication.The multiple microcatheter technique can be one technical option for the endovascular treatment of wide necked aneurysms.

Background: Acute pulmonary edema (APE) in cardiac arrest is a frequently observed phenomenon. Although possible mechanismshadbeen suggestedbasedon several case reports, its etiology and clinical significances are largely unknown. We investigated its risk factors and prognostic association. Methods: We identified non-traumatic witnessed out-ofhospital cardiac arrest patients who had achieved sustained ROSC from an EDOHCA registry extending from 2008 to 2012. The severity of APEwas assessed fromfirst chest radiograph taken after ROSC and graded to three. (1) Normal image or interstitial-type APE, (2) alveolar-type APE, (3) lobar-type APE.We assessed prehospital and inhospital resuscitation duration, cardiothoracic ratio, DIC score and pCO2, base deficit, lactic acid and C-reactive protein level as surrogate markers of mechanical injury duration, underlying heart function, coagulopathy, ventilation adequacy, overall ischemicburden and underlying inflammation, respectively, as well as other possible influencing factors from the registry and patient medical records. The independent associations between the APE severity and the possible etiologic factors were assessed with partial proportional odds model. Results: 227 patients were identified and included for analysis. Factorswith theirp value

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) for evaluation of acute chest pain in real world population, we prospectively enrolled 296 patients with acute chest pain at emergency department (ED) from November 2005 to February 2007. The patients were grouped based on the clinical information and CTCA result. The patients with a low risk profile and no significant coronary stenosis (>50%) in CTCA were discharged immediately (Group 1, n=103). On the other hand, the patients with an intermediate risk profile without significant stenosis were observed in ED for 24 hr (Group 2, n=104). The patients with significant stenosis underwent further coronary evaluation and management accordingly (Group 3, n=89). While no false negative case was found in Group 1, seven cases (6.73%) were found in Group 2, mostly during the observation period. In Group 3, there were 54 (60.67%) cases of acute coronary syndrome including 10 myocardial infarctions. The overall accuracy of CTCA for acute coronary syndrome was 88.5% (sensitivity), 85.1% (specificity), 60.7% (positive predictive value) and 96.6% (negative predictive value). In conclusion, clinical decision based on CTCA is safe and effective for low risk patients. Further validation is needed in patients with intermediate risk profile.