Did You Hear About This One?

[hbscott]

NEW LONDON, Connecticut (AP) -- A spark from a defibrillator set a woman's clothing on fire when a paramedic tried to restart her heart in an ambulance.

Brenda Jewett, 47, was pronounced dead at a hospital Monday. An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of her death.

Neither the paramedic nor other members of the ambulance crew were injured by the fire.

Prosecutors asked the state police, fire marshals and the state Office of Emergency Medical Services to investigate.

"I've been in this business 20 years and I've never heard of something like this," said Leonard Guercia Jr., the state's EMS director.

Mary Newman of the National Center for Early Defibrillation in Pittsburgh said the center had never heard of such a case before. She said she doubted the fire or the defibrillator caused Jewett's death.

"When you defibrillate a person, they are already dead," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/01/28/defibrillator.fire.ap/index.html

[iliel]

Originally posted by hbscott

"When you defibrillate a person, they are already dead," she said.

This made me spit my cherios out.

Nothing like washing your hands of a potential problem.

It will be interesting to hear what the autopsy says

[SmilingBluEyes]

It's true .... you only defib "dead people"....that is an ACLS basic.

[hbscott]

Hmmm, are we talking about "Ventricular Fibrillation" Vs "Asystole" because I could argue that if I am in V-FIB I am not clinically dead yet (but will be soon if the condition is not corrected) but if I am in Asystole and it has been awhile since some oxygen was perfused to my brain then yeah, I am dead.

-HBS

:)

[Katnip, RN]

But you don't defib someone in asystole.

[hbscott]

Originally posted by cyberkat

But you don't defib someone in asystole.

True but the issue was defining "dead" as noted in the post. Nonethless....

Asystole ..... Check me in another lead, then let's have a cup of TEA."

Transcutaneous Pacing (TCP) Only effective with early implementation along with appropriate interventions and medications.

Epinephrine 1 mg IV q3-5 min.

Atropine 1 mg IV q3-5 min. (max. dose 0.04 mg/kg)

Consider termination of efforts if asystole persists despite appropriate interventions.

**TCP is a form of "electrical therapy" .

-HBS

[RNKPCE]

Just refreshed my ACLS and they are making turning off 02 during defib mandatory due to chance of fire. They said there has been many cases of a fire starting if o2 left turned on while defibbing. I wonder if this was the case.

[hbscott]

Originally posted by batmik

Just refreshed my ACLS and they are making turning off 02 during defib mandatory due to chance of fire. They said there has been many cases of a fire starting if o2 left turned on while defibbing. I wonder if this was the case.

I was wondering the same thing?

-HBS

[LydiaGreen]

Ok, hence my name LydiaGreen, I am GREEN. I will graduate in May but am certainly not experienced and have not yet taken ACLS. But, the little bit of instruction I have been given made me think that you have to have a T-wave to defibrillate? If that's true, you have some cardiac activity and are therefore not "dead" yet. Seen defibrillations twice for cardioversion... the clients were both very much alive and one certainly voiced her complaint at the pain she experienced.

[RNKPCE]

In v- fib there are no t waves it is sometimes called a bag of worms, in v tach there are t waves. Cardioversion there are t waves and the person is shock in synch with their t waves.

[IamRN]

Originally posted by batmik

In v- fib there are no t waves it is sometimes called a bag of worms, in v tach there are t waves. Cardioversion there are t waves and the person is shock in synch with their t waves.

Cardioversion is in synch w/the R wave.

[gizelda196]

Do you have any more cheat sheets for acls. I like the tea one!!!!

what else ya got?