CPR when its not needed

[74restore]

Yesterday during my ride time we were dispatched to a 52 year old male, unresponsive and CPR in progress at a local psychiatrists office. He was in the middle of a mental health eval when he collapsed...

Turns out hes an alcoholic. He drinks a fifth of vodka daily and was quite inebriated when he collapsed.

We walked in the room to find a man doing pretty efficient CPR while the pateint moaned and yelled: "Oww....uugggghh...stop...it.....oww!"

yes, our faithful bystander was doing CPR on an awake and breathing patient who was actively protesting it . Needless to say we thanked the bystander and sent him on his way. Later in the ambulance our patient says "Why the hell does my chest feel like someone punched me?" The medic couldnt keep a straight face

 

[Handsome Robb]

It happens more often than you would think.

EMT/Security guards at the local casinos come to mind h34r:

 

[Nervegas]

DID YOU SEE THAT MECHANISM OF INJURY? I HOPE THEY DID SPINAL PRECAUTIONS!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

[silver]

Yesterday during my ride time we were dispatched to a 52 year old male, unresponsive and CPR in progress at a local psychiatrists office. He was in the middle of a mental health eval when he collapsed...

Turns out hes an alcoholic. He drinks a fifth of vodka daily and was quite inebriated when he collapsed.

We walked in the room to find a man doing pretty efficient CPR while the pateint moaned and yelled: "Oww....uugggghh...stop...it.....oww!"

yes, our faithful bystander was doing CPR on an awake and breathing patient who was actively protesting it . Needless to say we thanked the bystander and sent him on his way. Later in the ambulance our patient says "Why the hell does my chest feel like someone punched me?" The medic couldnt keep a straight face

Was the psychiatrist present? Sure he or she deals with mental diseases, but he or she did go to medical school and most likely had some sort of internal medicine training in his or her residency.

I hope he or she could realize the patient was breathing...

 

[ffemt8978]

When I was teaching CPR classes, during the part covering when to stop CPR I always made sure to mention that you stop the second time your patient says, "OUCH!"

 

[Martyn]

Reminds me of one of my classmates from the other year. Two of them were/are volunteer firefighters. They were first on scene for an alleged cardiac arrest and one of them started to attempt CPR whilst patient was still seated in his car and without checking for a pulse first...:wacko:

 

[mycrofft]

"Sometimes they're not ALL the way dead"

(Photo courtesy of Florin EMS)

 

[74restore]

yes, the psychiatrist was present. She simply stood in the corner and looked helpless while some random man did CPR on an awake patient.

Why didnt she step in? We may never know the answer...

It turns out that when the pt would "fall asleep," it would take a pretty firm sturnum rub to get him awake again. Maybe the CPR wasnt enough to get him awake at first... i dont know.

 

[Emergency Laughter]

I had a similar call while covering a marathon. A couple of guys started two-man cpr on a runner who fell. strangest damn thing to see.

 

[phideux]

Had one once at a local Holy Roller church. This place actually has a "nurse" on duty during the services. This "nurse" is about 70yrs old, and wears a nifty 1950s style nurse costume, complete with the dress, stockings, little cardboard hat and everything. A sight to behold.
She had a 400lb girl have too many "praise Jesuses" or something and pass out. When we got there she was still pounding on that big girls chest, conscious and breathing. Broke 3 ribs.

 

[Commonsavage]

How many psychiatrists does it take to perform CPR?

I still need a punch line

 

[Martyn]

Had one once at a local Holy Roller church. This place actually has a "nurse" on duty during the services. This "nurse" is about 70yrs old, and wears a nifty 1950s style nurse costume, complete with the dress, stockings, little cardboard hat and everything. A sight to behold.

I am deeply traumatised now. One of our crews got called back in to a dialysis center after leaving with their patient. Another pt in the center had gone into cardiac arrest. My colleauge said the center staff were doing compressions at about 80 per min at a depth of about 1/4". The person using the BVM didn't have a good seal and the chest wasn't rising at all. My two colleagues jumped into the rescue until an ALS truck got there. It's not just 'unnecessary' CPR but inadequate CPR as well.

 

[Emergency Laughter]

Great compressions dude!

I broke up a cpr in progress / assault while covering the Honolulu Marathon years ago. A runner had gone down on his knees and was holding his chest so two good sams pounced on him.
We rolled up a few minutes into it. Spit flying all over as the guy at the head tried to keep the runners head still and force air into him...it was pretty funny.

 

[Emergency Laughter]

How many psychiatrists does it take to do CPR?

I still need a punch line

Would you like to tell us how you feel about not having a punch line yet?

When did you first realize that you didn't have a punch line? How did you feel then?

 

[Altered Mental Status]

What,in your own words, did not having a punch line feel like? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the least bothersome and 10 being the most aggravating thing in your life, where does this incident of not having a punchline rate? Point to the place from where the punchline is missing. Is that the only spot?

 

[Martyn]

What,in your own words, did not having a punch line feel like? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the least bothersome and 10 being the most aggravating thing in your life, where does this incident of not having a punchline rate? Point to the place from where the punchline is missing. Is that the only spot?

You forgot..does it radiate anywhere? What type of pain is it? Stabbing? Sharp? Dull? :rofl:

 

[Chris07]

When I was teaching CPR classes, during the part covering when to stop CPR I always made sure to mention that you stop the second time your patient says, "OUCH!"

In case they were kidding the first time? :rofl:

Was the psychiatrist present? Sure he or she deals with mental diseases, but he or she did go to medical school and most likely had some sort of internal medicine training in his or her residency.

I hope he or she could realize the patient was breathing...

In teaching CPR I've come to realize the MD/DO after someone's name does not automatically qualify them as proficient CPR providers. It's scary but I've taught a physician who struggled with CPR. I've had a co-instructor tell me that he had an entire argument with a surgeon over why he needed to know CPR...after all he did have a nurse to do it for him! :glare:

 

[Veneficus]

I've had a co-instructor tell me that he had an entire argument with a surgeon over why he needed to know CPR...after all he did have a nurse to do it for him! :glare:

ok, so what was the response?

 

[Chris07]

ok, so what was the response?

The response included the generic "You can't always guarantee that someone else will be able to do CPR when crap happens". Also I believe he mentioned that CPR is amongst the most basic of interventions a physician should be able to deliver. It's required for a reason. ALS cannot be done without BLS.

In the end the surgeon just appeared to be inconvenienced by the fact that he had to sit in a 3 hour class rather than being convinced that CPR was not worth knowing.

 

[EMSpursuit]

Probably not common I would think...usually the Docs are not doing the CPR so they can ask questions, Order drugs, order tests, and figure out the plan. I think CPR would take away from the concentration...also there are usually Lots and lots of people in the hospital to take turns on the CPR. Funny they couldn't do it correctly none the less