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niekmaas | 13 years ago

Out of hospital CPR has very slim survival chances. Being on a plane will result in at least 30 minutes of CPR even before an ambulance can take over. Chances on surviving that are extremely low. Therefore I can see why the doctor on the plane decided not to perform CPR. I have a medical degree myself btw.

discuss

supwiggles|13 years ago

This +10. Out of the 11 out of hospital arrests that I went to as a Paramedic (in a 6 month period), only 1 of them survived.

Ironically, the one who survived was a prisoner who had cut his own throat. He had pretty much bled out by the time we got there, with a tiny little junctional on the monitor. Today he has 0 deficits, and it is like the event never occurred.

thematt|13 years ago

Maybe I'm missing something, but even if there's only a 10% chance of survival I'd still want somebody to give it a shot. What is the downside -- somebody has to do it for 30 minutes until the plane lands?

jlgreco|13 years ago

Is CPR done on people with wounds like that? I would think the chest compressions would mostly just be pushing blood out, but I guess doing that is better than doing nothing?

FireBeyond|13 years ago

Depends where you are - In the area around the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, or in the Puget Sound, return of spontaneous circulation rates can approach 40+% for witnessed treatable arrythmias.

phxrsng|13 years ago

Likewise in Pittsburgh, where the paramedics have been given protocols for hypothermia, ROSC outcomes for arrests are much higher than the national average.

TheAmazingIdiot|13 years ago

My dad had a massive heart attack December 2'nd. My mom and I were at the house when my dad had it.

Having no medical training, I know how to perform CPR and was able to resuscitate him to get to the local hospital and then to Methodist in Indy. Every doctor attributed to him living past 30 minutes to my efforts .

Outlook looked somewhat good for the short term, but the longer he was in ICU his chances worsened. Due to longer term massive organ failure, he passed on 12/12/12. My dad was Wilbur Harold Crawley III: automotive, electrical, and acoustic engineer.