Out-of-hospital resuscitation of a 3 month old boy presenting with recurrent ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest: a case report

Abstract

A 3 month old boy, with no known health conditions, suffered a sudden collapse at home. On first EMS arrival, ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest was identified and resuscitation following UK national guidelines was initiated. He remained in cardiac arrest for over 25 min, during which he received 10 defibrillation shocks, each effective, but with VF reoccurring within a few seconds of each of the first 9. A return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was achieved after the 10th shock. The resuscitation was conducted fully in his home, with the early involvement of Advanced Paramedic Practitioners specialising in critical care (APP- CC). Throughout his resuscitation, there remained a strong focus on delivering quality resuscitation in situ, rather than a ‘load and go’ approach that would have resulted in very early conveyance to hospital with on-going CPR. The patient was subsequently discharged home and is making an excellent recovery. The arrest was later determined to have been caused by a primary arrhythmia as a result of a previously unidentified non-obstructive variant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We present data downloaded from the defibrillator used during the resuscitation that illustrates clearly the recurrent nature of his fibrillation.