It may be that doctors are not reporting it officially due to the embarrassing professional and legal consequences associated with a premature declaration of death. Adhiyaman also believes that many cases go unreported due to privacy laws.
This all makes auto-resuscitation extremely difficult to study, and the exact mechanisms that produce the phenomenon remain speculative. Notably, though, all official reports of auto-resuscitation have one thing in common—the use of CPR.
One popular theory is dynamic hyperinflation, which can occur during CPR if the lungs are rapidly filled with air without adequate time to exhale. The increased pressure in the lungs could limit blood flow back to the heart and even inhibit the heart's ability to pump altogether, producing cardiac arrest. In theory, when emergency doctors stop CPR, the lung pressure caused by dynamic hyperinflation returns to normal and the blood begins to circulate with greater ease, producing an auto-resuscitation effect.
Other researchers have proposed that dynamic hyperinflation instead plays a role in delaying drugs administered during CPR from reaching the heart. Once CPR is curtailed and blood flow returns to normal, the drugs reach their destination and may produce further improvements in circulation.
Hyperkalemia, or an elevated level of potassium in the blood, has also been proposed as a contributing cause in some cases of auto-resuscitation. These heightened levels interfere with heart function. After physicians prescribe calcium, glucose and insulin, sodium bicarbonate or other drugs that reduce potassium levels, the heart is able to resume beating.
Adhiyaman recommends that physicians notify family members that CPR has been stopped and then monitor the patient for at least 10 to 15 minutes before declaring death. It happens gradually as your organs start shutting down. But in some situations, physicians are under time pressure and must draw a discrete line between life and death as quickly as possible—especially when it comes to organ donation and transplantation.
For brain-dead patients, the answer is simple: Keep them hooked up to a ventilator, which ensures circulation. But for patients who are donating after a cardiac death, doctors are put in the difficult situation of waiting long enough to ensure that a patient can be declared dead, but short enough to be left with viable organs that could save another life.
Hypothermia can cause heartbeat and breathing to slow, to the point where it is almost undetectable. It is believed that hypothermia led to the mistaken death of a newborn baby in Canada in The baby in question was born on a sidewalk in freezing cold temperatures.
Doctors were unable to detect a pulse, and the baby was declared dead. Two hours later, the baby started moving. Catalepsy and locked-in syndrome are examples of other conditions in which the living could be mistaken for dead.
Catalepsy is characterized by a trance-like state, slowed breathing, reduced sensitivity, and complete immobility, which can last from minutes to weeks. In locked-in syndrome, a patient is aware of their surroundings, but they experience complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, with the exception of muscles that control eye movement.
Unaware of her condition, doctors declared her brain dead. Medics, family, and friends stood by her bedside and discussed whether or not to switch off her life support. Allatt heard everything, but she was unable to tell them that she was fully conscious.
If this article has sent a shiver down your spine, fear not; Lazarus syndrome is extremely rare, as is the possibility of being wrongly declared as deceased. That said, the fact that such cases have even occurred has raised questions about death recognition and confirmation in a clinical setting.
When it comes to organ donation, however, other researchers note that waiting as long as 10 minutes to see whether ROSC might occur could be detrimental. Current guidelines recommend 2 to 5 minutes of observation after the heart has stopped beating before declaring death; the longer the blood flow to the organs is restricted, the less likely they are to be suitable for donation.
With this in mind, it is unlikely that protocols surrounding death confirmation will change anytime soon. But healthcare professionals and researchers alike are in general agreement that in this day and age, physicians have the expertise and medical equipment to effectively determine when a patient has passed. Back pain when breathing can indicate an underlying health condition, such as infection, inflammation, or spinal curvature.
The symptom can also…. Anyone can experience back pain at any time. There are several causes and treatments for back pain. Learn more. There are many possible causes of sharp lower back pain. Learn about symptoms, treatment options, and when to contact a doctor here. A recent study found that people with low-to-moderate chronic back pain who received pain-reprocessing therapy experienced significant reductions in…. Scientists closely monitored the vital signs of over seriously ill patients while they were being taken off life support, revealing that the heart can often stop and restart several times during the dying process before it totally stops for good.
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By continuing to use our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Health and Medicine. By Tom Hale 30 Mar ,
0コメント