New Test May Spot Futile CPR Cases

Taking such lost causes to the hospital ties up ambulances and emergency departments and the race to get there is hazardous for rescue workers and other motorists, researchers said. Morrison said her group studied the issue after she was approached by two frustrated paramedics. The researchers reviewed old cases, devised a three-point rule, then tested it in urban and rural areas of Ontario. Their findings are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Few people survive a cardiac arrest, which is caused by an abnormal heart rhythm and brought on by a heart attack or heart disease, electrocution, drowning or choking. The victim loses consciousness and stops breathing. More than 300,000 Americans die of cardiac arrest each year. In the Canadian experiment, only 41 of 1,240 patients, or 3 percent, survived. All were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene, hooked up to a defibrillator to try to shock their hearts back into normal rhythm and taken to the hospital. Later, the rescue workers filled out a form, applying the three-criteria test to each case to see if it would have signaled that CPR be stopped. Termination was advised if a pulse couldn't be restored, if the defibrillator determined that an electric shock shouldn't be given, and if the cardiac arrest wasn't witnessed by a rescue worker. Article's URL: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/94-08032006-692588.html

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