CPR any success?!

[FireEMT712]

I'm just curious if anyones brought anyone back with CPR/AED usage. I'm running 0% success rate! And 2 of my friends are in the same boat.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

I have been in EMS for over 25 years, the last 23 as a paramedic. You may go many times without bringing somebody back.....But when you do it sure feels good. AED's and CPR save lives everyday.

[TNFF319]

I believe you only have a 1% chance of getting someone back, and a 0% chance for truamatic arrest. The very best in the nation is only 4%.

You have only been in the fire service 6 months. You will eventually get someone back.

Are you an EMT?

[FireEMT712]

I believe you only have a 1% chance of getting someone back, and a 0% chance for truamatic arrest. The very best in the nation is only 4%.

You have only been in the fire service 6 months. You will eventually get someone back.

Are you an EMT?

Yeah right now I'm just an EMT-B on a BLS fire service

[Ambrose33]

I'm just curious if anyones brought anyone back with CPR/AED usage. I'm running 0% success rate! And 2 of my friends are in the same boat.

I've been an EMT for 8 years and recently just had my first CPR save. I was at the gym working out off duty and a 49 yr old collapse and went into cardiac arrest. We were able to have the patient breathing and radial pulses brought back with 10 minutes of CPR and AED shocks. One of the major reasons we were able to bring him back was because how quickly medical aid was given. He was actually released from the hospital today! I know how you feel with being unsuccessful. Its ok dont get discourage! The save rate is about 5% for all cardiac arrests. At some point you'll get the save.

[Lump532]

Yeah right now I'm just an EMT-B on a BLS fire service

Just an EMT-B? You should read this blog post. Does a great job disproving the "just and EMT" mentality.

[FireEMT712]

Just an EMT-B? You should read this blog post. Does a great job disproving the "just and EMT" mentality.

wow, I read that blog post and THANK YOU for sharing that. That will definately stop me from ever calling myself "just" an EMT-B. just wow, I don't even know how to respond to that, I guess I never really thought of my license that way. After the week I've had you really just made my day, seriously. Thanks again!

[mrpita]

Well, I am known as "Dr. Death", "Black Cloud" and a few other nicknames. My one partner has 18+ yrs experience, I have 3. He likes to kid me that I have more "kills" in the first six months we worked together than he has in the whole of his career. (I should say that I love gallows humor, and I am - I would say - an average EMT.) He has also said in a rare moment of lucidity that in reality, he has more deaths than he wants to remember, and my "record" is really not all that much.

I don't know if this counts as just a CPR/AED save. About two years ago I was an EMT on the first responder engine. We had an elderly woman in full cardiac arrest, unknown down time, not a witnessed arrest. CPR w/ OPA, BVM administered through (2) "no shock advised" on the SAED, then medics show up. Based on our report, they said from the start it wasn't promising so they would work her there instead of transport. They intubated, and had three rounds of drugs in her, no change. The family was on scene, so the one medic told me to keep doing CPR "for show" while he went in the next room and called med command for final pronouncement. He comes back to check the monitor one last time, tells me to stop compressions. Next thing I hear is "gotta go, doc, we have a rythym".

Don't remember if she even made it, kinda recall she made it at least to the ER, but got enough out of her to warrant transport instead of pronouncement. Next run we had with those medics they were teasing me about how it was me & my compressions' "fault" she came back. That felt pretty damned good...

[LVFD301]

I am glad someone else pointed out the link. Never look at yourself as "just an EMT".

But remember too - don't tell people you are going to "play nurse".

CPR success? Yep, from the days of nothing but CPR, to megacodes in NY, to
AED's. But as pointed out - A lot more that you don't bring back then you do. Lots.

One I really liked - we had an AED, first one in our area donated to the Lilitz EMS in PA to our rural department in Missouri. Got a call, first time to use the AED on a call, and we brought him back. Talk about long distance mutual aid!

Give it time, you will do fine.

[pasobuff]

Just a few weeks ago there was a save here where I work (in one of the buildings we cover) - female collapsed at her desk, AED was used as she was not breathing and pulseless.....by the time EMS/FD got there and worked on her, they had a pulse back and was being assisted breathing.....

I think she walked out of the hospital within a few DAYS!

[johnny46]

"Just an EMT" is a defensive mechanism, like the puffing of the puffer fish or the hideousness of Janet Reno. It's the work of evolution and should not be dismissed. I am just an EMT and it's never bothered me. I was also an ambulance driver.

[johnny46]

One I really liked - we had an AED, first one in our area donated to the Lilitz EMS in PA to our rural department in Missouri. Got a call, first time to use the AED on a call, and we brought him back. Talk about long distance mutual aid!

Give it time, you will do fine.

Technically a save is someone who makes it 24 hours.

I will not go into the rules for counting kills.

[KevinFFVFD]

I am certified EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatcher) and have been dispatching about 2.5 years. We have to give CPR instruction which includes the use of an AED if available until the ambulance crew arrives on scene. I have taken about 7-8 arrest calls, 2 of those were babies. Out of those calls only one survived.

[Lump532]

I am certified EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatcher) and have been dispatching about 2.5 years. We have to give CPR instruction which includes the use of an AED if available until the ambulance crew arrives on scene. I have taken about 7-8 arrest calls, 2 of those were babies. Out of those calls only one survived.

Believe it or not, those are great numbers. High quality EMD really does make a difference. I would bet that the one would not have survived without it.

Keep up the good work!

[FireEMT712]

Well, I am known as "Dr. Death", "Black Cloud" and a few other nicknames. My one partner has 18+ yrs experience, I have 3. He likes to kid me that I have more "kills" in the first six months we worked together than he has in the whole of his career. (I should say that I love gallows humor, and I am - I would say - an average EMT.) He has also said in a rare moment of lucidity that in reality, he has more deaths than he wants to remember, and my "record" is really not all that much.

I don't know if this counts as just a CPR/AED save. About two years ago I was an EMT on the first responder engine. We had an elderly woman in full cardiac arrest, unknown down time, not a witnessed arrest. CPR w/ OPA, BVM administered through (2) "no shock advised" on the SAED, then medics show up. Based on our report, they said from the start it wasn't promising so they would work her there instead of transport. They intubated, and had three rounds of drugs in her, no change. The family was on scene, so the one medic told me to keep doing CPR "for show" while he went in the next room and called med command for final pronouncement. He comes back to check the monitor one last time, tells me to stop compressions. Next thing I hear is "gotta go, doc, we have a rythym".

Don't remember if she even made it, kinda recall she made it at least to the ER, but got enough out of her to warrant transport instead of pronouncement. Next run we had with those medics they were teasing me about how it was me & my compressions' "fault" she came back. That felt pretty damned good...

Nice save! That is amazing.

[FireEMT712]

I am glad someone else pointed out the link. Never look at yourself as "just an EMT".

But remember too - don't tell people you are going to "play nurse".


Give it time, you will do fine.

Yeah I did not expect to be taken literaly as playing nurse on that post but oh well lol.

We had a call recently to a 95yof with history of CHF unconcious not breathing, we get there and a CNA is bagging while the nurse is doing compressions. Once we got in the room I offered to take over on compressions and on my first compression it felt like I broke all of her ribs which this was my first time experiencing that feeling so i cringed a bit kind of like the first time you hear suctioning lol but I kept going!

[Dickey]

FireEMT712....

To be brutally honest with you....you will loose more than you will win. My score is 6 saves out of 228 times of doing CPR in 19 years, as of two months ago. When you actually make a save, it makes the other 30 or so in a row worth it. The actual save rate is like 2.4% or something very close, under 3 anyway.

you are doing fine my friend. You will see and experience great tragedy and great triumph, keep your wits about you and you will be great at it.

[backsteprescue123]

In over a year, I think I have contributed to 4 or 5 saves out of probably 15-20 arrests. Just brought a guy back from 15 minutes of asystole a few weeks ago and he walked out of the hospital a week later I heard. I know my batting average wont stay this high for long but its definitely a good feeling.

Pediatric arrests are by far the worst. I hope I never run another, but I know that probably wont happen.

And while I know that there are no magic drugs or procedures, our area is really pretty progressive with some EMS ideas and it seems to be really helping out patients. We have been using the Res-Q-Pod for probably almost 2 years or so now and this thing seems to work great. There are alot of studies out there, some of the early ones were actually done in this area and its pretty cool to see how it increases the effectiveness of CPR. We are lucky to have a great medical director who is actually fairly involved in our EMS training, who trusts us and tries to learn things from us not only teach us what she knows.

[Dickey]

In over a year, I think I have contributed to 4 or 5 saves out of probably 15-20 arrests. Just brought a guy back from 15 minutes of asystole a few weeks ago and he walked out of the hospital a week later I heard. I know my batting average wont stay this high for long but its definitely a good feeling.

Pediatric arrests are by far the worst. I hope I never run another, but I know that probably wont happen.

Way to go jr.!!

Yes, you have a high batting average and enjoy it while it lasts.


Kids are always the worst, no matter what.

[the1141man]

I saw the reference to the old standby line in that blog entry: "Paramedics save lives/Basics save Paramedics..." perhaps we should stop beating that old carcass and bring in a new one: "Good ALS begins with good BLS."