In-Hospital Survival after Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest

We read with keen interest the description of etiology and determinants of in-hospital survival after an out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) (1). Among the non-cardiac causes, pulmonary embolism is reported to be the most common. It is particularly challenging to diagnose pulmonary (PE) as a cause of OHCA, but it often presents as a non-shockable rhythm, which was predictive for non-survival. The emergence of mobile-application based ultrasound systems where the ubiquitous smartphones can be transformed into an ultrasound by plugging in a transducer or through a Bluetooth will facilitate the diagnosis of PE in OHCA (2).

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - September 10, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Boban Thomas, Imad Hassan, Carla Nobre Source Type: research