March 2025; papers of the month

03/01/25 • 34 min

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Welcome back to March 2025's papers podcast!

We start off this month with a fascinating paper looking at the experiences of relatives who were witness to unsuccessful resuscitation. We often talk on the podcast about the impact of medical or technical interventions, but this paper offer us an opportunity to consider the huge impact of our non-technical elements of practice and reflect on how we can best support relatives whilst still performing resuscitation to the best of our abilities.

Next up we look at a paper deriving and validating a new adult trauma triage score The sBATT that predicts early mortality and need for intervention.

Lastly we have a think about the use of adrenaline in out of hospital traumatic cardiac arrests; what association does it have on outcomes?

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon & Rob

Welcome back to March 2025's papers podcast!

Next up we look at a paper deriving and validating a new adult trauma triage score The sBATT that predicts early mortality and need for intervention.

Lastly we have a think about the use of adrenaline in out of hospital traumatic cardiac arrests; what association does it have on outcomes?

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon & Rob

Previous Episode

Maternal Arrest; Roadside to Resus

Cardiac Arrest in pregnancy affects around 1: 12-30,000 women in the developed world.

As you’d expect the risk of death for mother and child is extremely high, but some causes of arrest are reversible and we can make a real impact with our care and treatment of these cases

Now it goes without saying that these are some of the most emotive, complex and technically challenging Resuscitations that you could think to be involved in; by definition young female arrest with unborn babies involved.

Thankfully this is not going to be a case that many of us see, but with the stakes so high and potential to impact on the outcome of two patients, it’s an area that’s worth real consideration, preparation and mental rehearsal in case we are one of the few that may need to deal with it!

In this episode we’re going to run through all the same stuff that you’d expect; pathophysiology of pregnancy, aetiology and the way in which we should approach these arrests. But then we’re lucky enough to be joined by Caroline Leech, an EM and Prehospital doctor who’s an expert in the area having just published a key paper that’s prompted loads of discussion in crew room and online on the topic of maternal arrest and Resuscitative Hysterotomy which will really challenges our perception on survival for both mum and the unborn baby if a RH is indicated.

So we’ll be running through that paper with some really valuable insights from Caroline and wrap up with some questions to her exploring experience from cases, along with potential strategies for how approach and manage these cases for those working both in prehospital and in-hospital settings.

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon, Rob & James

Next Episode

Electrical Injuries; Roadside to Resus

Welcome back to The Resus Room! This time, we’re diving into the fascinating and often overlooked world of electrical injuries. From household mishaps and workplace accidents to tasers and even lightning strikes, electrical injuries can range from minor shocks to life-threatening cardiac arrests.

As always, we’ll be taking you through the full spectrum of care, from first contact at the roadside to critical management in resus. And let’s be honest, there’s a real lack of clear guidance out there when it comes to managing these cases. So, we’ve done the legwork, scoured the literature, and we’re here to make sense of it all.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

Pathophysiology; how electricity interacts with the body and why not all shocks are created equal.
Classification; what makes a low-voltage injury different from a high-voltage one, and why that matters.
Prehospital & ED Management; who needs an ECG, who needs admission, and what to do with those tricky "seemingly fine" patients.
Special cases; tasers, lightning strikes, and the unique challenges they pose.

One of the big questions we’ll be tackling: Does everyone who gets an electric shock need to go to hospital? We’ve all seen them, the patient that has a shock at work, but they feel fine. So, do they need a work-up, or can they safely go home?

So, grab a coffee (or maybe a non-conductive beverage of choice), and let’s get stuck in to Electrical Injuries!

Once again we’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback either on the website or via X @TheResusRoom!

Simon, Rob & James