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A CORONARY CARE UNIT — THREE‐YEAR SURVEY
Author(s) -
Caspari P. G.,
McCredie R. M.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1970.tb63453.x
Subject(s) - medicine , coronary care unit , ventricular fibrillation , myocardial infarction , resuscitation , intensive care unit , cardiology , mortality rate , emergency medicine , significant difference
A coronary care unit is described, and management of 293 patients with myocardial infarction admitted from 1967–1969 is discussed. Patients were admitted directly to the unit from outside the hospital, and immediate intravenous and monitor control of the patient was established. The overall mortality rate was 20%, and there was no statistically significant difference between different years or with routine use of different antiarrhythmic drugs. Mortality rate increased with increasing age and clinical severity of the infarct. Primary ventricular fibrillation was the commonest cause of death. Sixty‐six per cent of the patients exhibited some form of arrhythmia while in the unit. Resuscitation was most successful (30%) for those whose cardiac arrest was due to ventricular fibrillation. Only two deaths occurred within 48 hours of discharge from the unit, and we consider that no significant benefit would have been achieved by extending length of stay in the unit for patients with uncomplicated infarcts.