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.
University of British Columbia FRCP Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Kevin
K
Clark
Riyad B
RB
Abu-Laban
Peter J
PJ
Zed
Lois
L
Graham