Survival after 43 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A case report
Ramzi Nakhle, Mahmoud EL-Hussein, Ghaith Zaatari, Mariana Helou
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCAs) is a major challenge for every emergency physician. Despite
the new guidelines and regular updates, OHCAs still have a low survival rate. However, many prolonged
resuscitations were reported to have good outcome. A 37-year-old unconscious man was brought to
our Emergency Department (ED), and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated as per the
American Heart Association (AHA)/Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support (ACLS) guidelines.
Patient returned to spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after 43 minutes. He had a long stay in the Intensive
Care Unit (ICU) and encountered several complications. Patient left the hospital at day 54 with minimal
neurologic sequel. Many factors were proven to be associated with the survival rate of OHCAs; the
duration of resuscitation, the rhythm on arrival, the patient’s age, the initiation time of Basic Life
Support (BLS) all play a major role.
