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In subgroup analysis, there may be more successful ROSC in patients with upper extremity IO access compared to lower extremity access in OHCA, but these results should be adopted with caution.

Source
Retrospective Comparison of Upper and Lower Extremity Intraosseous Access During Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2024 Mar 26:1-8. doi: 10.1080/10903127.2024.2321285. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38416867.

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Kids frequently present with abnormal vital signs but seldom require prehospital life-saving interventions (LSI). Based on the occurrence of LSI, age-group vital sign ranges were adjusted to better identify critically ill kids. Abnormal respiratory status (RR, SpO2) was strongly associated with prehospital LSI.

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Low and high extremes of prehospital vital signs were associated with higher rates of hospitalization and in-hospital mortality; however, there was not statistically significant improvement in their model when using age adjusted vital signs.

Correlation of vital sign centiles with in-hospital outcomes among adults encountered by emergency medical services. Acad Emerg Med. 2024 Mar;31(3):210-219. doi: 10.1111/acem.14821. Epub 2023 Nov 3. PMID: 37845192.

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This review article discusses four randomized clinical trials (RCT) focusing on interventions for out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest (OHCA) that were published in 2023, all of which showed negligible impact on survival for the interventions studied.

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In adults presenting to EMS after OHCA, those receiving epinephrine prior to advanced airway management (AAM = supraglottic airway, SGA, or endotracheal tube) experienced better outcomes and prehospital ROSC than those receiving AAM before epinephrine. This was true for both shockable and non-shockable initial rhythms.

Source
Sequence of Epinephrine and Advanced Airway Placement After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Feb 5;7(2):e2356863. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.56863.

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Patients with TBI who were intubated in the prehospital setting had no difference in 30-day mortality when comparing induction with ketamine versus etomidate.

Source
Etomidate versus Ketamine as prehospital induction agent in patients with suspected severe traumatic brain injury. Anesthesiology. 2024. Jan 8. Doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004894. Online ahead of print.

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A panel of experts appraising a systematic review on prehospital airway management created 22 recommendations relating to ventilation (BVM vs SGA vs ETI), video laryngoscopy (VL), and drug-assisted airway management.

Source
Evidence-Based Guideline for Prehospital Airway Management. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2023. Dec 22. Doi: 10.1080/10903127.2023.2281363. Online ahead of print.

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Tidal volume (TV) delivered is hard to control during cardiac arrest, and evidence has shown that over-ventilation can be detrimental in physiological parameters integral to cardiac arrest survival. Small bags were thus integrated into a single EMS system to help combat over-ventilation. Paradoxically, large bags had a greater likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA).

Source
Association of small adult ventilation bags with return of spontaneous circulation in out of hospital cardiac arrest. Resuscitation. 2023 Dec:193:109991. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2023.109991. Epub 2023 Oct 5.

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For the majority of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients undergoing standard (30:2 compressions:breaths) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) prior to definitive airway placement, bag-valve mask (BVM) ventilations did not achieve adequate lung volumes most of the time. Receiving adequate BVM ventilations >50% of the time was associated with significantly higher rates of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival.

Source
Bag-Valve-Mask Ventilation and Survival from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Multicenter Study. Circulation. 2023 Nov 12. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065561. Epub ahead of print.

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Blast injuries combine common polytrauma mechanisms - blunt, penetrating, burns - with the unique pathophysiology of blast wave injuries, and mass casualty scenarios. While rare, these patients are resource-intensive, prone to delayed yet rapid clinical deterioration, and carry high morbidity and mortality.

Source
High risk and low prevalence diseases: Blast injuries. Am J Emerg Med. 2023 Aug;70:46-56. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 May 5.