Newsletter November 2003 - Australian Resuscitation Council

NEWSLETTER
Australian Resuscitation Council
November 2003 Vol 27, No. 3
ITEMS IN THE COUNCIL NEWSLETTER ARE FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND DO NOT
NECESSARILY CONSTITUTE OFFICIAL COUNCIL POLICY. MATERIAL MAY BE COPIED FOR
LIMITED DISTRIBUTION SUBJECT TO AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE SOURCE.
“STOP PRESS”
AS FROM JANUARY 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN RESUSCITATON COUNCIL
GUIDELINES AND POLICY STATEMENTS WILL BE FREELY AVAILABLE
IN READ ONLY PDF FORMAT VIA THE ARC WEBSITE
www.resus.org.au
CHANGES TO THE ARC WEBSITE IN
2004
The following letter has been sent to all 2003
subscribers explaining the changes to the ARC
website being developed during 2004:
As you will have read on the enclosed renewal notice
for your 2004 Subscription, the ARC Guidelines and
Policy Statements will become freely available on the
ARC website from January 2004. This is consistent
with the ARCs objective to make guidelines widely
available throughout Australia to all involved in
resuscitation. These guidelines will be available in
READ ONLY PDF format ensuring that the most
recent and up to date information is always available
at any time. The BLS, ALS and PLS flowcharts will
continue to be fully downloadable.
In addition the ARC is enhancing the benefits of
subscription. When you renew your “hard copy”
subscription for 2004, which includes guideline
updates three times a year, you will also be issued
with a username and password.
This will enable you to gain access to the new
“Subscribers Only” area on the ARC website. This
will provide access to additional information and
resources including:
• The ARC Guidelines being fully
downloadable.
• Literature databases (in ENDNOTE format).
• Evidence Based Worksheets used to
develop ARC Guidelines.
• Subscriber’s forum.
This list of additional resources will be further
developed and added to during 2004.
I trust that you will again support the ARC through
your continued subscription and find the added
benefits of being a subscriber worthwhile.
With kind regards
A/Professor Ian Jacobs
National Chairman
“ANY ATTEMPT AT RESUSCITATION IS BETTER THAN NO ATTEMPT”

ARC Newsletter Vol. 27 No. 3
November 2003
SPARK OF LIFE CONFERENCE 15-16
APRIL 2005 - ADELAIDE
Council has decided that the registration fee
for the 2005 SOL conference will be:
$350 plus GST ($385)
The call for abstract, preliminary program and
registration booklet will be distributed after the
July 2004 Council meeting. Keep an eye on
the ARC website for all the latest news about
the forthcoming conference.
ILCOR
The most recent ILCOR meeting was held in
Brazil in September of this year. Three ARC
representatives attended and reported that it
was a good meeting with a lot of useful work
being completed. They all agreed it was a long
way to travel and perhaps Council should
discourage the choice of remote areas for
future ILCOR meetings. The next meeting will
be held in Dallas in March 2004.
“COUGH CPR”
The issue of self administered cough CPR has
once again been raised as an alternative way
of treating cardiac arrest. The ARC, the
National Heart Foundation and the American
Heart Association (AHA) do not advocate this
technique as it does not apply to
those suffering a cardiac arrest and is
impractical. This is because the first sign of
cardiac arrest is unconsciousness which makes
it impossible to self administer cough CPR.
In cases where patients have some symptoms,
i.e. chest pain, they should rest and call 000 for
an ambulance. The ARC and National Heart
Foundation will soon release a joint statement
on this issue.
DEATH OF PETER SAFAR
On August 4 th , 2003 Peter Safar, MD,
distinguished Professor of Resuscitation
Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, died at the age of 79 years.
Known as the father of modern day
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Dr Safar’s
research efforts and accomplishments in
emergency medicine, critical care medicine and
resuscitation research have saved many lives
and gained international recognition.
In the 1950s at Baltimore City Hospital, Dr
Safar documented, with experiments on human
volunteers, cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) step A (airway control by backward tilt of
the head, jaw thrust and open mouth) and step
B (the superiority of mouth-to-mouth over
manual artificial ventilation). He combined
steps A and B with step C (closed-chest
cardiac massage, rediscovered and
documented by others) into basic life support
(BLS). Dr Safar is survived by his wife and two
sons.
“Newsflash!”
The ARC is currently reviewing policy
statement 8.9.6 Envenomation - Jellyfish
Stings. This policy statement will be put into
the new guidelines format and will reflect the
latest evidence available. It has, however
come to our attention that there is an error in
the current policy statement (page 6 of 7)
where it suggests that aspirin should be given
to children. This statement is incorrect and
should read that "age related analgesia
should be given to children to relieve pain".
Aspirin is not recommended to be given to
children.
ARC SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BRANCH
NEWS
CD Rom of presentations from the
April 2003 “Steps to Survival” Conference
Cost $10 + $2.50 post & packing
Please order your copy from:
Secretary, SA Branch
PO Box 894
North Adelaide SA 5006
South Australia
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“ANY ATTEMPT AT RESUSCITATION IS BETTER THAN NO ATTEMPT”

ARC Newsletter Vol. 27 No. 3
November 2003
POTASSIUM ALERT
There have been a number of reports of
adverse events associated with the intravenous
injection of potassium. These are as a result of
inadvertent or inappropriate use of potassium,
which has a well defined and appropriate role in
the resuscitation of some patients. As with all
drugs, there should be local protocols in place
to ensure there are sufficient safeguards to
prevent problems. Readers who would like
further information are directed to two websites
that have recently addressed some of these
issues:
http://www.safetyandquality.org/articles/ACTIO
N/kcalertfinal1.pdf and
http://www.clininfo.health.nsw.gov.au/whatsnew
@CIAP/#kcl
ROADSIDE ANAPHYLAXIS
“On my way to an early morning meeting on
Saturday 15 th November I passed two trucks
parked on the road shoulder. I noticed two
people between the trucks crouched over a
third person who was collapsed on the ground.
I safely stopped, pulled off the road and
reversed back to them. I got out of my car and
asked what had happened to be informed that
the person lying on the road was the driver of
one of the trucks who had swallowed a bee that
had flown into his vehicle. He had called for
assistance as he stopped, then staggered out
of his vehicle and collapsed.
Two truck drivers had rendered him
assistance, called for an ambulance and
following first aid principles and had turned him
on his side. This had saved his life. I returned
to my vehicle, grabbed my emergency kit and
returned to the scene.
The young man was in respiratory distress
with a puffy suffused face, a weak carotid pulse
with no discernible peripheral pulse and his
chest was silent. I drew up adrenaline 1/1000
and administered it into his thigh
subcutaneously. He had adequate circulation
into his skin with adequate capillary return.
I chose the thigh as he was wearing shorts
and I wanted to insert an IV into his upper arm.
He slowly improved after this and he soon had
a palpable radial pulse. I was preparing an IV
infusion while a passing female orthopaedic
surgeon was attempting to insert an IV. Two
ambulances arrived and I handed over to the
paramedic. Oxygen was applied, IV
hydrocortisone and further adrenaline was
administered and the victim was much better.
However, when he was transferred to the
ambulance trolley and placed on his back he
had some breathing difficulties which settled
when the paramedic repositioned his head.
This reinforced to me that the first aid treatment
had been life saving.
I rang the hospital late in the morning and he
had made a full and uncomplicated recovery.
Oh, which meeting was I attending - the
Australian Resuscitation Council meeting
with my fellow councillors.
What were some of the topics being
discussed Management of Anaphylaxis,
Collapse, Airway Management and Asthma.
One of the truck drivers mentioned that the
truck’s driving mirrors might have caused this
incident. These large objects attached to each
door of the cabin could direct an air stream at
the driver and act like a scoop to force airborne
insects into the cabin of the truck.”
Dr Chris Hogan
“Proud to be a GP”
RACGP Representative on
Australian Resuscitation Council
ARC CONTACT DETAILS
Australian Resuscitation Council
C/- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Spring Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9249 1214
Fax: (03) 9249 1216
Email: carol.carey@surgeons.org
Website: www.resus.org.au
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“ANY ATTEMPT AT RESUSCITATION IS BETTER THAN NO ATTEMPT”

ARC Newsletter Vol. 27 No. 3
November 2003
NEW AND/OR UPDATED GUIDELINES
Which accompany this Newsletter
Yellow Border
Contents Pages 1-5
Blue Border
Guideline 4.3.1 Airway Management
Guideline 4.3.2 Manual Clearance of the
Airway
Guideline 5.4
Expired Air Resuscitation in
Young Children and Infants
Guideline 8.1 Principles of Control of
Bleeding for First Aiders
Guideline 8.23 Anaphylaxis – First Aid
Management
SUBSCRIBERS PLEASE NOTE
The enclosed Guidelines 4.3.1 and
4.3.2 are a combination of your
existing Policy Statements 4.3.1-4.3.5.
Please REMOVE Policy Statements
4.3.1-4.3.5 from your manual and
REPLACE with enclosed Guidelines
4.3.1 and 4.3.2.
Guideline 12.4 Flowchart for the Sequential
Management of Life-Threatening
Arrhythmias in Infants and Children
Guideline 12.6 Management of Specific
Arrhythmias in Paediatric ALS
Guideline 12.7 Techniques in Paediatric
Advanced Life Support
Guideline 12.8 Medications & Fluids in Paediatric
ALS
UPCOMING EVENTS
5 TH INTERNATIONAL
SPARK OF LIFE CONFERENCE
15-16 April 2005
Hilton Hotel
Adelaide, South Australia
Registration Fee for the 2 day conference:
$385 (Inclusive of GST)
Workshops: Thursday 14 April
(Details to follow)
INTERNATIONAL KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Pierre Carli (France)
Tony Handley (UK)
Vinay Nadkarni (USA)
AUSTRALIAN VISITOR
Frank Archer (Vic)
MAJOR SPONSORS
LAERDAL
MEDTRONIC PHYSIO-CONTROL
4
DRAFT GUIDELINES CURRENTLY
UNDER REVIEW
The following Guidelines will be issued to
member organisations and State Branches, as
drafts, for consideration at the next meeting of
Council.
Guideline 3.1
Guideline 6.2.3
Guideline 6.3.1
Guideline 8.9.6
Guideline 8.15
Guideline 9.1.1
Guideline 10.1.1
Unconsciousness
Method of Checking the Brachial
Pulse in Infants
Locating the Site for External Cardiac
Compression
First Aid Treatment for Marine
Envenomation
First Aid for Asthma
CPR Training Course Objectives,
Content and Criteria for Evaluation
Ancillary Devices for EAR
Further details:
Carol Carey, Conference Organiser, Australian
Resuscitation Council, C/- RACS, Spring Street,
Melbourne, Vic 3000 Tel: (03) 9249 1214
Email: carol.carey@surgeons.org
“COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL
READERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR”
“ANY ATTEMPT AT RESUSCITATION IS BETTER THAN NO ATTEMPT”
Carol Carey
Newsletter Editor