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Tue Dec 19 16:55:14 GMT 2006

In a message dated 12/19/2006 10:48:47 AM Central Standard Time,  
tangentcarrot at hotmail.com writes:

Hello  list

I'd like to hear your opinion about deciding to terminate  treatment for 
isolated TBI resulting in cardiac arrest.

What if the  pateint is still in PEA? Will you attempt to defibrilate VF, if 
it  happened for some reason?

If you do treat him- what will you do?   ET intubation and ventilation alone? 
CPR? Does anybody here practice  thoractomy in the scenario and is ready to 
"come forward" and admit to  it?

For the rural EDs I work at, it would depend on the donor status  of the 
decedent, and how fast the transplant team can get here. Most likely  nothing 
specific done, notify Organ services for a possible tissue harvest, and  go from 
there.

If there was a donor card, and a possible match, then I might work the code  
while we were checking things out, but a major TBI resulting in a non 
traumatic  arrest is pretty bad mojo...

ck

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head injury- termi ation of resuscitative efforts