Resuscitation of COVID-19 positive patient
The general director of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 infection a world pandemic situation on the 11 th March 2020. At the time, there is neither specific treatment nor vaccination available against COVID-19 infection. Everyone in the population is considered to be susceptible to this infection. The clinical features of COVID-19 infection vary from asymptomatic presentation to severe pneumonia and in the gravest cases can lead to death. In most of the cases (80%), the clinical presentation would correlate to mild respiratory infection and pneumonia. The severe cases with the high risk of death are connected with the elderly patients with comorbidities and chronic medical impairment. This algorithm aims to guide you through the essential safety precautions and deviations from the standard CPR approach, taking into account the risk of spreading the COVID-19 infection from the patient to the medical staff.
Review
This algorithm covers the one truly actual topic – the CPR in-hospital cardiac arrest in COVID-19 positive patient. The algorithm will guide you step by step through the CPR, including the Advanced CPR features. Each step is organized within the algorithm in a logical manner, and the correct and incorrect answers are provided with sufficient explanation. The text is concise, easily understandable and maintains the professional standard. All the abbreviations are explained. The multimedia helps to imagine the situation of ongoing CPR, though more sophistication could add to the realistic background of the situation. However, the velocity of the creation of this algorithm by the AKUTNE.CZ team is exceptional. I consider the information and the guidelines, included in this algorithm, up to date and reliable according to the available data of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The guidelines are consistent with the one presented by the UK Resuscitation Council. The information about the virus pandemic and the infection may change and the algorithm than should be updated.
Sources
ALHAZZANI, Waleed. Surviving Sepsis Campaign: Guidelines on the Management of Critically Ill Adults with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In: Esicm.org [online]. 2020 [cit. 2020-03-23]. Available at: https://www.esicm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SSC-COVID19-GUIDELINES.pdf
Resuscitation Council UK Statements on COVID-19 (Coronavirus), CPR and Resuscitation. In: Resuscitation council UK [online]. 2020 [cit. 2020-03-23]. Available at: https://www.resus.org.uk/media/statements/resuscitation-council-uk-statements-on-covid-19-coronavirus-cpr-and-resuscitation/
