Nghe An General Friendship Hospital made a miracle saving the life of a patient with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Dr. Nguyen Duc Phuc - Head of the Intensive Care Department, Nghe An General Hospital said: The patient who was just rescued was Mr. PVH (48 years old, residing in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city). This patient had a history of good health. However, on August 31, 2024, patient PVH suddenly fell into a coma, turned purple and was taken to the emergency room by his family.Nghe An General Friendship Hospital.

At the time of admission, the PVH patient was in a deep coma, cyanotic, apnea and cardiac arrest. Immediately, the Emergency Department activated the hospital-wide alarm system and urgently performed emergency treatment. After 10 minutes of continuous emergency treatment, the PVH patient's heartbeat returned but was still in critical condition. The patient continued to be in a deep coma, had to be put on a ventilator and used two types of vasopressors continuously to maintain heart rate and blood pressure.

The PVH patient underwent an emergency CT scan of the head. The results showed no lesions. The patient then underwent a coronary angiography to determine the cause of cardiac arrest. Based on the clinical and paraclinical results, the patient was diagnosed with post-cardiac arrest coma, monitored for arrhythmias, and transferred to the Intensive Care Unit for further treatment.

Immediately after that, the patient underwent "controlled hypothermia". Hypothermia patches were placed on the skin; body temperature was controlled by a machine; combined with active resuscitation measures, mechanical ventilation, use of sedatives and muscle relaxants, along with blood pressure control... the hypothermia process lasted about 72 hours.

PVH patient regained consciousness after 4 days of treatment, could call and understand, no longer had paralysis. The patient was extubated on the 4th day after admission. The patient's health progressed well, had no neurological sequelae and was discharged on September 9.

According to Dr. Nguyen Duc Phuc: The survival rate of patients with cardiac arrest is very low. Even if saved, the patient still has to face severe brain damage such as hemiplegia, seizures, memory loss, or worse, coma and vegetative state.

To increase the patient's chance of survival, especially the recovery of consciousness and motor function, "commanded hypothermia" is an advanced technique that helps reduce mortality and brain damage after circulatory arrest.

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Command hypothermia is a method of using cooling techniques to lower the patient's body temperature to about 33 degrees Celsius for 24 hours to prevent cell metabolism disorders after cardiac arrest. When the heart stops contracting, blood is no longer pumped to nourish the body, causing dysfunction of cells, especially brain cells. Damaged brain cells are difficult to recover or easily leave sequelae. Command hypothermia intervention helps minimize damage and prevent cell disorders, thereby limiting sequelae for patients.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Phuc - Head of Intensive Care Department,

Nghe An General Friendship Hospital

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huong - DirectorNghe An General Friendship Hospitalstated: “The saving of patients with cardiac arrest by using the command hypothermia technique has clearly shown the investment in equipment and the focus on training and improving the professional qualifications and skills of the hospital's medical staff. The command hypothermia technique, applied at Nghe An General Hospital, has promptly saved many patients in a state of cardiac arrest.

To achieve high efficiency in hypothermia treatment, close coordination between specialists is needed. Patients with cardiac arrest must be taken to the hospital as soon as possible, and the CPR process must be carried out quickly, actively, and according to the protocol to restore circulation in time”./.