Describe the cardiac arrest in pregnancy.
Maternal cardiac arrest is rare.
The majority of BLS and ACLS algorithms remain the same, including drug and defibrillation dosages.
Modifications to BLS and ACLS
Displace the uterus manually to the left to relieve aortocaval compression.
One-handed manual displacement: Standing on the patient's right, push the uterus up and away.
Two-handed manual displacement: Standing on the patient's left, pull the uterus up and towards the rescuer.
Consider the following causes in addition to the common causes of cardiac arrest (see “Hs and Ts”): [11]
Amniotic fluid embolism
Uterine atony
Placenta abruption or placenta previa (see “Antepartum hemorrhage” for details on management)
Eclampsia
Describe the cardiac arrest in patients with trauma.
Cardiac arrest due to trauma rarely responds to standard ACLS treatment.
Management is primarily surgical, i.e., emergency chest decompression and/or emergency thoracotomy followed by operative intervention.
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