Effect of three emergency pacing modalities on cardiac output in cardiac arrest due to ventricular asystole.
Pacing is a well recognised treatment in asystolic arrest with residual p wave activity. This can be achieved by transvenous, transthoracic, or manual external (cardiac percussion) pacing techniques. We report a case of ventricular asystole in which all three pacing modalities were applied, and demonstrate their relative effectiveness with invasive haemodynamic monitoring data. Stroke volumes were comparable with all three methods. Manual external pacing is an effective holding measure when cardiac output is compromised due to bradycardia or asystole with residual p wave activity before more definitive pacing techniques are instituted.
Chan
Louisa
L
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth PO6 3LY, UK. louisa_chan@hotmail.com
Reid
Cliff
C
Taylor
Bruce
B
D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis