Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in coronavirus disease 2019 patients

Abstract

We are faced with a novel human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (CoV-2) that has been pronounced a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. This virus is highly contagious and can result in a disease that has been named CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is characterized by severe pneumonia followed by a cytokine storm that can result in death. In such situations, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be a huge challenge because the virus can infect healthcare workers (HCW). For this reason, The American Heart Association and The Resuscitation Council (UK) have modified their guidance on performing CPR in COVID-19 patients to give them the best chance of survival while protecting the HCW. In this review, we aim to summarize the literature and share our experience in resuscitating COVID-19 patients or persons under investigations.

Keywords

• cardiac arrest
• cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• coronavirus disease 2019