ROCHESTER, MN (APP) -Due to the increasing problem with paramedics accurately diagnosing death in the prehospital setting, researchers as the Mayo Clinic have developed a test that will help determine those who are actually dead from those who simply appear dead.
The test, termed the "tent test", has been documented increase both the sensitivity and specificity of death determination in the prehospital setting. In a randomized, double blinded study, researchers compared a small mirror, an ECG machine, and the drug sildenafil citrate in the determination of death. While a small mirror held under the nose and an ECG tracing were 86% effective in detecting death, sildenafil increased the sensitivity to 96%.
Larry Wilders, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Ethics at the Mayo Clinic said, "It is really quite simple and intuitive. When paramedics are uncertain about death, they administer a 100 milligram dose of sildenafil into a muscle. If the patient is still alive, a definite tenting can be seen in a sheet placed over the patient. If the patient is dead, no such tenting is seen."
When questioned about the large dose, Wilders said, "The medical evidence seems to say that a large dose is cardioprotective and thus beneficial for the patient. If the patient does not have heart disease, there are other benefits."
Wilders was questioned about the effectiveness of sildenafil in women. He replied, "We still have some work do in that area. We have tried oyster extract, but as of yet nothing in women seems to work better than the mirror or ECG." Funding for the study was provided by Pfizer.
sent in by that rascal Dr. Bryan Bledsoe
