The primary role of epinephrine for the treatment of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is to increase blood flow to the myocardium and central nervous system and ultimately improve survival. However, despite the administration of epinephrine, survival following VF or PEA is low. In an attempt to improve outcome from VF and PEA, alternative adrenergic agonists...

Cardiac arrest victims who present with pulseless electrical activity (PEA) usually have a grave prognosis. Several conditions, however, have cause-specific treatments which, if applied immediately, can lead to quick and sustained recovery. Current teaching focuses on recollection of numerous conditions that start with the letters H or T as potential causes of PEA. This teaching method is too c...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess whether pediatric inpatients who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for bradycardia with poor perfusion are more likely to survive to hospital discharge than pediatric inpatients who receive CPR for pulseless arrest (asystole/pulseless electrical activity [PEA]), after controlling for confounding characteristics. METHODS A prospecti...

Pulseless electrical activity, an arrhythmia that leads to cardiac arrest, is defined as the presence of organized electrical activity without a palpable pulse or arterial blood pressure. When this arrhythmia presents during anesthesia, it has become routine practice to initiate advanced cardiac life support according to the American Heart Association guidelines. This arrhythmia is usually asso...

UNLABELLED Survival after in-hospital pulseless electrical activity (PEA) cardiac arrest is poor and has not changed during the last 10 years. Effective chest compressions may improve survival after PEA. We investigated whether a mechanical device (LUCAS™-CPR) can ensure chest compressions during cardiac arrest according to guidelines and without interruption during transport, diagnostic proced...

AimThis observational cohort study aimed to identify factors associated with pulseless electrical activity (PEA) and asystole in in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) patients determine whether differences outcome based on the initial rhythm were explained by patient- characteristics.MethodsAdults IHCA from 2017 2018 included Danish Registry (DANARREST). Additional data came population-based regist...

OBJECTIVE In the prehospital setting, countershock terminates ventricular fibrillation (VF) in about 80% of cases. However, countershock is most commonly followed by asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA). The consequences of such a countershock outcome have not been well studied. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the outcome of prehospital VF victims shocked into asysto...