Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation During the Coronavirus Crisis: Important Updates for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia Community

Critical Care During the Coronavirus Crisis: Challenges and Considerations for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia Community

xisting American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines do not address the challenges of providing resuscitation in the setting of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic, wherein rescuers must continuously balance the immediate needs of the patients with their own safety.To address this gap, the American Heart Association, in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, American College of Emergency Physicians, The Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists, and American Society of Anesthesiologists, and with the support of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and National Association of EMS Physicians, has compiled interim guidance to help rescuers treat individuals with cardiac arrest with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.Over the past 2 decades, there has been a steady improvement in survival after cardiac arrest occurring both inside and outside the hospital. 1That success has relied on initiating proven resuscitation interventions such as high-quality chest compressions and defibrillation within seconds to minutes.The evolving and expanding outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections has created important challenges to such resuscitation efforts and requires potential modifications of established processes and practices.The challenge is to ensure that patients with or without COVID-19 who experience cardiac arrest get the best possible chance of survival without compromising the safety of rescuers, who will be needed to care for future patients.Complicating the emergency response to both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest is that COVID-19 is highly transmissible, particularly during resuscitation, and carries a high morbidity and mortality.3][4] Hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocardial injury, ventricular arrhythmias, and shock are common among critically ill patients and predispose them to cardiac arrest, [5][6][7][8] as do some of the proposed treatments such as hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, which can prolong the QT. 9 With infections currently growing exponentially in the United States and internationally, the percentage of patients with cardiac arrests and COVID-19 is likely to increase.Healthcare workers are already the highest-risk profession for contracting the disease. 10This risk is compounded by worldwide shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).Resuscitations carry added risk to healthcare workers for many reasons.First, the administration of CPR involves performing numerous aerosol-generating procedures, including chest compressions, positive-pressure ventilation, and establishment of an advanced airway.During those procedures, viral particles can remain suspended in the air with a half-life of ≈1 hour and

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