The Alfred Hospital experience of resumption of cardiac activity after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy.
With the advent of donation after circulatory death programs in Australia and New Zealand, greater knowledge is needed about physiologic variation in haemodynamic activity following withdrawal of cardiorespiratory support. The ANZICS Statement on Death and Organ Donation allows provision for variation in the observation times between two and five minutes after cessation of the circulation prior to declaration of death. We report our experience of two cases, the first where electrical activity and pulse returned after a 102 second pause and the second where electrical activity returned after a three minute pause; both longer than previously reported cases.
Intensivist, Department of Intensive Care, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria.
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Yong
Donation Specialist Nursing , Department of Intensive Care, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria.
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D'Souza
Intensivist, Department of Intensive Care, Cabrini Hospital, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria.
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Philpot
Intensivist, Department of Intensive Care, The Alfred Hospital, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Chairman, ANZICS Centre for Outcome and Resource Evaluation, Director, ANZICS Adult Patient Database, Medical Advisor, DonateLife, Melbourne, Victoria.
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Pilcher
D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement
organ donation, donation after cardiac death, end of life, death, dying, determination of death, declaration of death, cessation of circulation