Cardiac Arrest




BACKGROUND



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  • Cardiac arrest is defined by a triad of derangements:




    • Pulselessness



    • Apnea



    • Unresponsiveness




  • This state leads to progressive tissue ischemia and organ dysfunction, which, if not rapidly corrected, can result in irreversible deterioration of cardiac and neurologic function.



  • Cardiac arrest occurs in 2% to 6% of pediatric patients who are admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.



  • Cardiac arrest occurs in approximately 16,000 children out of hospital in the United States each year.



  • Because of the relative infrequency of out-of-hospital events, pediatric resuscitations are not common for providers outside of the pediatric intensive care unit.



  • There continues to be a significant difference in outcomes (e.g., favorable vs. nonfavorable) between patients with in-hospital vs. out-of-hospital events.





ETIOLOGY



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  • In general, the cause of cardiac arrest falls into one of three categories:




    • Asphyxia



    • Ischemia



    • Arrhythmia




  • Adults with cardiac arrest often have sudden, unexpected ventricular fibrillation and often have underlying coronary artery disease, which leads to myocardial ischemia.



  • In contrast, pediatric cardiac arrest is rarely caused by a sudden coronary event or arrhythmia.



  • Cardiac arrest in children is most often caused by progressive asphyxia from acute hypoxia or hypercarbia, which leads to acidosis and nutrient depletion.



  • Ischemic events are the second most common etiology in pediatrics.



  • Ischemic events occur secondary to inadequate myocardial oxygen delivery, which in children occurs most commonly in the setting of sepsis, hypovolemia, or myocardial dysfunction.



  • Arrhythmias account for the smallest number of cardiac arrest events in pediatric patients, comprising only 10% of events.





PHASES OF CARDIAC ARREST



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  • Cardiac arrest can be broken down into four phases:




    • Prearrest



    • No flow (untreated cardiac arrest)



    • Low flow (cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR])



    • Postresuscitation





PREARREST





  • Pediatric patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest may have physiologic changes in the hours leading up to their arrest.



  • Because the majority of pediatric cardiac arrests occur secondary to progressive asphyxia or ischemia, recognition and treatment of respiratory failure and shock states may prevent a number of arrest events from occurring.



  • The Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course was designed to reduce the number of cardiac arrests by improving the early recognition of these conditions.



  • Care during this phase should focus on:




    • Identifying and treating reversible conditions



    • Optimizing patient monitoring



    • Providing rapid emergency response for patients not already in a health care setting





NO FLOW (UNTREATED CARDIAC ARREST)





  • During untreated cardiac arrest, circulation has stopped.



  • Responders to cardiac arrest should minimize time in this state in order to optimize patient outcomes.



  • Interventions should focus on the initiation of Basic and Advanced Life Support techniques.




LOW FLOW (CPR)





  • The low-flow phase begins with the initiation of resuscitation measures (chest compressions).



  • Effective CPR improves coronary perfusion pressure and provides cardiac output to support organ viability.



  • Even with optimal CPR, cardiac output is only 10% to 25% of normal. Basic Life Support (BLS) and PALS guidelines should be followed during the resuscitation phase.



  • Responders should push hard and fast and should allow for complete chest recoil to maximize cardiac filling.



  • Care should be taken to minimize interruptions to CPR and to avoid overventilation.



  • Code medications should be administered according to PALS guidelines. See Table 7-1.



  • Further research on goal-directed endpoints (end tidal CO2, etc.) is necessary, but a sudden increase in end-tidal CO2 suggests return of spontaneous circulation.


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Jan 14, 2019 | Posted by in PEDIATRICS | Comments Off on Cardiac Arrest

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