Vertebral fracture as a complication of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Excerpt

An intubated 88-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after return of spontaneous circulation following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from cardiac arrest. Two hours before, her nurse called the Urgent Medical Aid Service because of an acute respiratory failure. When the rescue team arrived, the patient, who had a known aortic stenosis, had signs of pulmonary edema that rapidly led to a cardiac arrest. She underwent vigorous CPR for approximately 10 min before spontaneous circulation returned, with a normal EKG. To note, rescuers did active compression-decompression CPR with a hand-held device (CardioPump^®) consisting of a suction cup that was attached to the chest. …