1/5. Resuscitation in near drowning with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.We report a case of near drowning of a 3-year-old girl, who was admitted to our emergency room with a core temperature of 18.4 degrees C. After rewarming on cardiopulmonary bypass and restitution of her circulation, respiratory failure resistant to conventional respiratory therapy prohibited weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. Therefore, we instituted extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Fifteen hours later, she could be weaned from ECMO but required assisted ventilation for another 12 days. Twenty months later there are no neurologic deficits.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = circulation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/5. Cold water submersion and cardiac arrest in treatment of severe hypothermia with cardiopulmonary bypass.In the paediatric population, submersion injury with drowning or near-drowning represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. This study reviews retrospectively our own experiences and the literature on the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to rewarm paediatric victims of cold water submersion who suffer severe hypothermia (<28 degrees C) and cardiac arrest (asystole or ventricular fibrillation). In addition to three children treated at our institution, nine other victims were found in the literature. In this cohort of 12 children aged between 2 and 12 years, there was a tendency to better outcome with lower core temperature at the beginning of extracorporeal circulation (mean temperature in nine survivors, 20 degrees C; in three non-survivors, 25.5 degrees C). The lowest temperature survived was 16 degrees C. Neither base excess, pH nor serum potassium levels were reliable prognostic factors. The lowest base excess in a survivor was -36.5 mmol/l, the lowest pH 6.29. We consider CPB as the method of choice for resuscitation and rewarming of children with severe accidental hypothermia and cardiac arrest (asystole or ventricular fibrillation). Compared with adults, children, especially smaller ones, require special consideration with regard to intravenous cannulation as drainage can be inadequate using femoral-femoral cannulation. In hypothermic children we advocate, therefore, emergency median sternotomy. Until more information regarding prognostic factors are available, children who are severely hypothermic and clinically dead after submersion in cold water--even if for an unknown length of time--should receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and be transported without delay to a facility with capabilities for CPB instituted via a median sternotomy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = circulation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/5. cardiopulmonary resuscitation after near drowning and hypothermia: restoration of spontaneous circulation after vasopressin.Recent animal data have challenged the common clinical practice to avoid vasopressor drugs during hypothermic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when core temperature is below 30 degrees C. In this report, we describe the case of a 19-year-old-female patient with prolonged, hypothermic, out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest after near drowning (core temperature, 27 degrees C) in whom cardiocirculatory arrest persisted despite 2 mg of intravenous epinephrine; but, immediate return of spontaneous circulation occurred after a single dose (40 IU) of intravenous vasopressin. The patient was subsequently admitted to a hospital with stable haemodynamics, and was successfully rewarmed with convective rewarming, but died of multiorgan failure 15 h later. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the use of vasopressin during hypothermic CPR in humans. This case report adds to the growing evidence that vasopressors may be useful to restore spontaneous circulation in hypothermic cardiac arrest patients prior to rewarming, thus avoiding prolonged mechanical CPR efforts, or usage of extracorporeal circulation. It may also support previous experience that the combination of both epinephrine and vasopressin may be necessary to achieve the vasopressor response needed for restoration of spontaneous circulation, especially after asphyxial cardiac arrest or during prolonged CPR efforts.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = circulation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/5. cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a near-drowned child with a combination of epinephrine and vasopressin.OBJECTIVE: To report a cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempt in a 20-month-old child employing a combination of vasopressin and epinephrine. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. PATIENT: A 20-month-old child found in cardiac arrest after submersion. INTERVENTIONS AND RESULTS: Dispatcher-assisted basic life support was initiated immediately after pulling the child out of the water. The emergency medical service crew arrived approximately 6 mins later and found a hypothermic, cyanotic child in cardiocirculatory arrest. The first electrocardiogram showed sinus bradycardia. After intubation and administration of epinephrine and atropine with no effect, an intravenous bolus of 0.2 mg of epinephrine and 10 IU of vasopressin resulted in restoration of spontaneous circulation. The boy was flown to a hospital and was discharged 23 days later to a rehabilitation facility. He returned home 6 months after the accident, where further rehabilitation efforts are pending. CONCLUSION: Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early and aggressive advanced life support, rewarming, and the combination of intravenous epinephrine and vasopressin were associated with sustained return of spontaneous circulation following hypothermic submersion-associated cardiac arrest.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = circulation (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/5. Complete neurological recovery following delayed initiation of hypothermia in a victim of warm water near-drowning.Induced hypothermia has been demonstrated to improve outcome following cardiac arrest and is now widely endorsed. However, the optimal method of cooling and the identification of patients most likely to benefit from this therapy remains to be determined. We report a patient in whom there was a long delay in return of spontaneous circulation (at least 45 min) and the initiation of induced hypothermia (12 h) who made an almost complete neurological recovery following cardiac arrest from warm-water near-drowning.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = circulation (Clic here for more details about this article) |