Percutaneous Thrombin Injection Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics of Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysms

Objective@#To analyze the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (FAP), identify a suitable location and timing for percutaneous thrombin injection (PTI) based on this analysis, and report our clinical experience with the procedure. @*Materials and Methods@#CFD can be used to analyze the hemodynamics of the human body. An analysis using CFD recommended that the suitable location of the needle tip for PTI is at the center of the aneurysm sac and the optimal timing for starting PTI is during the early inflow phase of blood into the sac. Since 2011, seven patients (three male and four female; median age, 60 years [range, 43–75 years]) with FAP were treated with PTI based on the devised suitable location and time. Prior to the procedure, color Doppler ultrasonography was performed to determine the location and timing of the thrombin injection. @*Results@#The technical success rate of the PTI was 100%. The amount of thrombin used for the procedure ranged from 200 IU to 1000 IU (median, 500 IU). None of the patients experienced any symptoms or signs of embolic complications during the procedure. Follow-up CT images did not reveal any embolism in the lower extremities and showed complete thrombosis of the pseudoaneurysm. @*Conclusion@#Based on our study of CFD, PTI administered centrally in the FAP during early inflow, as seen on color Doppler, can be an effective technique.

Effect of Devices on Defibrillation Skill in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination; A Simulation Study

PURPOSE: Early defibrillation is essential for survival from ventricular fibrillation (VF). In Korea, assessment of clinical skills, including electrical defibrillation, has been part of the medical licensing examination since 2009. Although one defibrillator is used in the exam, various defibrillators are used in the real world. We wanted to know whether unfamiliar devices might affect defibrillation skill. METHODS: Our research was performed during conduct of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for sixth grade medical students. Three different defibrillators were used for the test; CodeMaster, LiFEGAIN, and HEARTSTART MRx. CodeMaster was the defibrillator used for education and training. In the test room, VF was simulated by use of a simulator (SimMan(R)), and one of the three defibrillators was placed randomly. A checklist, where eight items among a total of 13 items were for device operation, was used for assessment of defibrillation skill. The written exam and clinical practice score for emergency medicine and defibrillation skill score were investigated. In addition, each operation time of device (turn-on, charge, and shock) was calculated with review of video resources containing the entire exam process. RESULTS: Among 65 students enrolled, 59 students were included for analysis. Students were divided according to CodeMaster (n=20), LiFEGAIN (n=15), and HEARTSTART MRx (n=24). No significant difference in the score on the written exam and clinical practice was observed among the groups. In addition, the scores for defibrillation skill and the time intervals did not differ among the groups. CONCLUSION: Unfamiliar devices may not affect defibrillation skill in medical students.

A Simulation Study for Quality of Chest Compression Provided by Health Personnel / 대한구급학회지

BACKGROUND: Effective chest compression may improve the return of spontaneous circulation and neurologic outcome in arrest victims. For fear of rescuer's fatigue, guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) recommended that chest compression (CC) should be switched every 2 minutes, but there is little evidence. We investigated whether health personnel could provide consistent quality of CC for 2 minutes. METHODS: We recruited prospectively health personnel working on one university hospital. On the day assigned randomly, CPR performance data was collected with use of CPR recording technology. Quality of CPR was calculated every 30 seconds interval. To identify the quality decay, we used repeated measure analysis of variance with SPSS 17.0 for analysis. RESULTS: We analyzed 8,485 CCs performed by 41 subjects. Total number of CC decayed between 90 to 120 seconds (51.6 +/- 3.3 to 50.8 +/- 3.5, p = 0.020) within recommended range. The ratio of correct depth CC decayed between 90 to 120 seconds, falling from 83.4 +/- 24.9% to 68.3 +/- 38.4% (p = 0.002). The ratio of low depth CC increased significantly over time (10.2 +/- 20.7% to 31.3 +/- 38.5%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Health personnel may provide adequate number of CC for 2 minutes. But, the number of correct depth CC may decay between 90 to 120 seconds. Also the number of low depth CC may increase over time.