BACKGROUND The clinical utility of determining cardiac motion on ultrasound has been reported for patients presenting in pulseless medical cardiac arrest. However, the relationship between ultrasound-documented cardiac activity and the probability of surviving pulseless electrical activity has not been examined in populations with trauma. We hypothesized that cardiac activity on ultrasound pred...

BACKGROUND Anesthesiologists are responsible for the management of perioperative cardiopulmonary arrest in children. This study used simulation to assess the pediatric resuscitation skills of experienced anesthesia residents. METHODS Nineteen anesthesia residents were evaluated using a pediatric pulseless electrical activity scenario. The authors used a standardized checklist to evaluate the ...

C ardiovascular depression from halothane overdose is a well-described cause of cardiac arrest in children undergoing anesthesia. In Salem et al’s (1) report of cardiac arrests in infants and children, seven of 73 were related to overdose of halothane. In Keenan and Boyan’s (2) landmark article on cardiac arrest due to anesthesia, five of six pediatric arrests were due to halothane excess, with...

The duration of untreated (no cardiopulmonary resuscitation) ventricular fibrillation (VF) needed to produce postdefibrillation pulseless electrical activity (PEA) was determined in 9 anesthetized swine ranging in weight from 20 to 30 kg. VF was induced electrically by a right ventricular catheter electrode, while arterial pressure and the electrocardiogram were recorded. VF was confirmed by th...

The inability to adequately support a patient on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) due to impaired drainage is not an uncommon occurrence during support. Typically, the causes include hypovolemia, kinks in the circuit, cannula malposition, or inadequate cannula size. In this report we present an uncommon etiology of this problem. A 3-year-old female presented to our hospital in status ...

A 52-year-old male, with no prior medical history developed status epilepticus followed by cardiac arrest with pulseless electrical activity (PEA) while at the airport returning to his home country in West Africa. He received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and was intubated at the airport. He was found to have had a stroke and pneumonia. The peripheral blood smear demonstrated no schistocy...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of patients successfully resuscitated from pre-hospital cardiac arrest with initial pulseless electrical activity (PEA), because the long-term outcome of these patients is unknown. Survival, neurological status one year after cardiac arrest and self-perceived quality of life after five years were assessed. METHODS This retr...

Purpose: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in end-of-life and critical patients, specifically cancer hospitals, often faces a dilemma between or non-resuscitation. This study will determine the predictors of failure for patients by expert agreement. Materials Methods: Predictor’s variables were collected from review 20 research journals based on who expired not successfully resuscitated. From...

BACKGROUND Development of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia after an initial rhythm of pulseless electrical activity or asystole is associated with significantly increased cardiac arrest mortality. OBJECTIVE To examine differences in epinephrine administration during cardiac arrest between patients who had a secondary ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachyca...