title: Are patients who are found deeply unconscious, without having suffered a cardiac arrest, always breathing normally?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate how often an ambulance crew reports abnormal breathing among patients who are found deeply unconscious but without having suffered a cardiac arrest.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 3 (1+1+1) and without cardiac arrest were retrospectively evaluated, via ambulance records, for signs of abnormal breathing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 45 patients who fulfilled inclusion criteria, 24 (53%) had signs of abnormal breathing, as reported by the ambulance crew.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Signs of abnormal breathing among comatose patients with no cardiac arrest appear to be relatively common. This therefore increases the risk of starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in such patients, which is in accordance with the present CPR guidelines for the lay person. Whether this might do harm to such patients is not known.
authors.affiliation: University College of Borås, School of Health Sciences, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bång
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gustavsson
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Stig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holmberg
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herlitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000552:Ambulances; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012119:Respiration; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*