title: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in pregnancy with good neurological outcome for mother and infant.
abstract: Cardiac arrest in pregnancy is rare (about 1:30000 pregnancies) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are even less frequent. Resuscitation of the pregnant mother is challenging and requires attention to the altered physiology, specific pathologies and the presence and well-being of the fetus. Once circulation has been restored, the lack of high-grade evidence regarding delivery of the baby and post-resuscitation care makes decision making complex. We present a case of out-of-hospital maternal cardiac arrest with successful resuscitation and good neurological outcome for mother and infant. The principal emphases are on decision making, resuscitation and education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Hutt Valley District Health Board, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Electronic address: sabine.pecher@huttvalleydhb.org.nz.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pecher
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hutt Valley District Health Board, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D002585:Cesarean Section; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D058687:Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000628:therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cardiac arrest; Perimortem caesarean section; Pregnancy; Resuscitation