Patient waking up during CPR

[LisaStone]

Saw an interesting article about a man who AWOKE during CPR! I was shocked to read it, and was wondering if anyone had similar stories?!

Article:

Patient remains awake during 9

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

The patient not only looks great. They are discharged, or discharge their selves, shortly thereafter.

Oh, who can forget James Bond defiberlating himself!

defibrillating

[aprilmoss]

Years ago when I was an ER nurse down in Baltimore, we had a guy who the paramedics brought in on a "thumper" (mechanical CPR machine that's driven off the pressure of the oxygen bottle). This guy would wake up when the CPR was being applied but would pass out as soon as the CPR was paused. He didn't make it. The machine was circulating his blood but the heart was kaput.

Other than that, I've had patients we've started CPR on convert back to something approximating a rhythm and we could discontinue CPR of course. They were often awake very shortly thereafter so I suppose that they could have been conscious while we were still doing the compressions.

[brownbook]

defibrillating

Thanks, I knew it didnt look right but spell check accepted it?

I will write defibrillating 100 times on the chalk board.

I blame the beer I had at dinner.

[hawaiicarl, BSN, RN]

Had a patient go into Torsades on a Tele unit, they started CPR, and called a code. There was some issue getting the crash cart into the room, the door was partially blocked so I punched him in the chest and converted him. Patient wakes up and says "Ow my chest hurts", me "Yeah that's my fault"

Cheers

[theantichick]

Yep. First time I started CPR on a patient (I'd taken over several times with other patients, but this was my first time to decide to start it)... broke ribs, whole 9 yards... (geriatric patient)

Anyway, after about 6-7 compressions, she moans and moves her arms like she's trying to raise them up to stop me. I FREAKED OUT. Started thinking I had missed a pulse (I'd checked at the carotid, but adrenaline had me shaky enough I figured I must have missed her pulse.) Got her 1/2-way down the hall and she stops breathing again, and at the door to the ambulance (I was an EMT back then) I couldnt' find a pulse again. I made one of the firefighters double check me. He couldn't find it either.

We fast loaded her, and started CPR again. Once again, after a half dozen or so compressions, she starts moaning again and moving her arms like before. Stopped compressions again, and about 3 minutes later she stops breathing and no pulse again. Started CPR again just before pulling into the ER bay.

Gave report, told the nurse everything that happened and that I was scared I'd started CPR and broken her ribs inappropriately, but laid out the timeline for her. ER staff took over and I went to do my paperwork.

About 10 minutes later went to hand off my paperwork to the nurse. She wanted to reassure me because I was still freaked out. They'd stabilized the patient, and the indication was that she was having such low output that there was no palpable pulse at the carotid, and once we boosted that with compressions her brain would perfuse and she'd wake up. She wanted me to know that I'd absolutely done the right thing, and while the lady was old enough and frail enough she might not make it out of the hospital, I'd given her her best chance.

[PrereqTaker89]

This thread is a great read! Keep the stories coming!

[sapphire18]

I recently had a young patient wake up during compressions...same thing as above, lost his pulse when we stopped compressions...restarted compressions and he woke up again...very disturbing. He made it in the end and of course I'm glad, but can't imagine what he was, or is, going through emotionally because of it.