ROSC

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With the exception of getting lost in a cavernous apartment building, the call couldn't have gone better. It came out as chest pain, and rapidly declined to cardiac arrest. There were no signs pointing us toward the correct apartment and we were left wandering around briefly cursing and looking generally confused in a creepy apartment building.
We finally found the patient sitting on a chair looking not so great (and by great, I mean alive). We lifted her to the floor and I put her on the monitor, VF! (a deadly, yet treatable rhythm) We ended up shocking her six times. My partner gave her a host of drugs as I intubated her and when I looked up at the monitor again she was in a 3rd degree block (a very dangerous, yet treatable rhythm) I immediately fiddled with some buttons on the monitor and began to pace her. (giving her heart a little electrical encouragement) and she had a pulse! And a blood pressure! We had an interesting trip out of the ridiculous building as the cot wouldn't fit into the elevator at all. But we were able to squeeze backboard in at a weird angle and celebrated when the doors successfully shut.

She remained alive for the about half a mile drive to the hospital, and after that, well, I'm not really sure what happened. The 12 lead showed a huge inferior MI, and shortly after we got there she was taken off the pacer without a problem.
All in all, it was a pretty cool call.

Comments

Unknown said…
It's always good when a code save happens. Nicely done!
18 October, 2008
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