Neurologically normal survival after fibrinolysis during prolonged cardiac arrest: case report and discussion.
Cardiac arrest secondary to pulmonary embolism is a devastating condition with a high mortality rate. It is currently unclear whether fibrinolysis (thrombolysis) is beneficial in this setting. We report the case of a 28-year-old woman with a pulmonary embolism who developed return of pulses following the administration of tissue plasminogen activator after 38 minutes of pulseless electrical activity cardiac arrest. She went on to make a full neurologic and cardiopulmonary recovery. This case is discussed with reference to the current literature on the subject.
Clark
Kevin
K
University of British Columbia FRCP Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abu-Laban
Riyad B
RB
Zed
Peter J
PJ
Graham
Lois
L