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Of 29 victims in cardiac arrest,13 had return of spontaneous circulation following field resuscitation.Of these,6(21%)survived,with mild(n=2)and severe(n=4)neurologic impairment at hospital discharge.The best outcome predictors were obtained in the field.These were,for death or severe neurologic impairment,submersion durations>10 minutes(6/6)and resuscitation durations>25 minutes(17/17),and for good outcome,sinus rhythm(37/37),reactive pupils(43/43),and neurologic responsiveness(40/40) at the scene.Field-determined factors were reproducibly good outcome predictors.Aggressive emergency medical services may save the lives of pediatric victims in cardiac arrest following short submersion durations. The data support pronouncing dead in the field those pediatric victims of non-icy submersions who do not respond to advanced life support within 25 minutes. |
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