Andrzej Basiński

Background: While cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be life-saving for patients in cardiac arrest, it simultaneously puts them at risk for skeletal and soft tissue injuries. The prevalence of cardiovascular and thoracic wall injuries related to CPR varies significantly in the literature, from 21% to more than 78%. After restoration of circulation, ischemia–reperfusion brain injury ensues. Sedation is one of the interventions that can reduce its effects on brain cells. The purpose of this study was to analyse the use of analgesics and sedatives in nontraumatic patients after sudden cardiac arrest in the peri-resuscitation period in the emergency department. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. An analysis was performed on the electronic health records of 131 patients who underwent CPR, with ages ranging from 24 to 96 years. The study protocol was in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results: Chest wall injuries were assessed based on the results of X-ray imaging (n = 39; 31%) and computed tomography (n = 87; 69%). Of the 126 cases, 17.5% had rib fractures and 6.3% had rib and sternal fractures. Almost 78% of the patients (n = 102) received sedatives and/or analgesics during the peri-resuscitation period. Monotherapy was used in 85 cases. Among these drugs the most frequently mentioned were midazolam (45.2%), fentanyl (26.8%), and propofol (20.8%). Conclusions: As only two-thirds of the patients received sedation and half received analgesics, there is still room for a broader incorporation of analgesia and sedation into peri-resuscitation care protocols.

Introduction: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation-induced consciousness is a newly recognized phenomenon with an increasing incidence. A return of consciousness during cardiopulmonary resuscitation affects up to 0.9% of cases. Patients may also experience physical pain associated with chest compressions, as most victims of cardiac arrest who are subjected to resuscitative efforts sustain ribs or sternum fractures. Methods: A rapid review was carried out from August 2021 to December 2022. Results: Thirty-two articles were included in the rapid review. Of these, eleven studies focused on the return of consciousness during CPR, and twenty-one on CPR-induced chest injuries. Conclusion: A small number of studies that have dealt with the return of consciousness associated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation made it hard to clearly determine how often this occurs. There were more studies that dealt with chest trauma during resuscitation, but no study considered the use of analgesics. Of note, there was no standardized therapeutic approach as far as the use of analgesics and/or sedatives was considered. This is probably due to the lack of guidelines for analgesic management during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and peri-resuscitative period.

Background. The study was based on the Terror Management Theory. This theory assumes that self-preservation and awareness of imminent death create the potential to trigger fear. The “culture buffer” can protect people from fear, and it is composed of two factors: personal views on world issues and self-esteem. The aim of the study was to show that exposure to content that increases the availability of thoughts about death causes changes in medical personnel (doctors, nurses, and paramedics) in areas such as self-esteem, mood, sense of agency, and communion. Methods. The research was experimental. Standardized psychometric tests were used, including the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE), the University of Wales Institution of Science and Technology) Mood Adjective Check List (UMACL), scales measuring agency and communion, and an additional questionnaire containing two types of text. Respondents were divided into two text groups: A (exposed to increased availability of thoughts of death) and B (neutral). Results. Reflection on death, triggered by the experimental manipulation of the independent variable (text version), did not modify mood (in groups of medical staff and students) or self-esteem of health care professionals but did modify scores on a single RSE item in the student’s group. Moreover, age, income level, religious attitude, and belonging to a professional group had an impact on self-esteem, mood components, and other parameters but did not interact with the text group. Reflection on death modified the sense of agency and communion. Conclusions. Exposure to content increasing the availability of thoughts of death led to observable effects possible to observe in all groups only after taking into account an additional factor, which turned out to be the religious attitude of the respondents in the experiment. Specific tools should be selected or developed for the needs of research on respondents working in health care.

Hospital emergency departments are units of the State Medical Rescue system in Poland, which was established to help people in a state of a health emergency. The aim of this study is to develop an optimal method of financing emergency departments in Poland. The study used Polish data from 2016–2019 on the financing of services at the Clinical Emergency Department of the University Clinical Center in Gdańsk. For benchmarking and mathematical modeling, data for the Czech Republic, Germany and Latvia was used. The results of the analysis shows significant differences, to the disadvantage of Clinical Emergency Department, between the potential contract values in the tested models and the actual amounts of funds transferred by the National Health Fund Pomeranian Voivodeship Branch for the activities of Clinical Emergency Department under the concluded contracts. The introduction of co-payment on the part of patients reporting to the emergency departments with minor ailments that do not require hospitalization generates financial revenues, but does not significantly improve the financial results of the analyzed ward. However, it may be educational for patients in terms of raising their awareness of the correct place to seek assistance in the event of a sudden illness.