Re: Use of ekg monitor for verification of asystole

[Guest guest]

Asystole is a workable dysrhythmia. Therefore, if you apply the monitor to a

dead patient and get asystole, then you've got a patient with a workable

rhythm and if you don't do the asystole algorhythm you may be abandoning a

patient.

Legal ramifications: Far fetched but some lawyers will try anything.

Basically they would have to prove that if you had worked the patient he would

have

had a reasonable chance of living.

I worked on a lawsuit several years ago where a man suffered injuries

incompatible with life and the medics, with approval from online medical

control, did

not work him.

The plaintiffs managed to find a doctor who testified that in his opinion the

patient had a better than 50% chance of living if he had been worked.

Ridiculous, but they found this guy who actually said that.

The case was settled for nuisance value, but the settlement went against the

company and caused its premiums to go way up.

So my practice is not to put the monitor on an obviously dead person. If the

patient meets the criteria for resuscitation, then you do apply the monitor

and work the patient. We have protocols which allow us to call the code after

working the asystole algorhythm completely through without any response.

But people who are definitely dead, have been dead for a while, don't need an

ECG strip to confirm it. After all, people were pronounced dead for

thousands of years before the ECG was invented. How did our forefathers ever

know

anybody was dead since they didn't have an ECG? This is a silly practice that

has been adopted without thought because sometime or another somebody said it

would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the patient was really dead. But

all it proves is that the patient has a dysrhythmia that is defined in our

protocols as being a workable dysrhythmia, so if we're going to run a strip,

then

we need to work the patient.

Best,

Gene

[Guest guest]

we didn't have lawyers then.

heheh, sorry. no offense.

That is a good point that you make and I am happy to know that the

medics don't need to attach an ECG to some decapitated individual.

nothing more,

sean

On Tuesday, Jan 6, 2004, at 23:31 US/Central, wegandy1938@...

composed:

> After all,  people were pronounced dead for

> thousands of years before the ECG was invented.  How did our

> forefathers ever know

> anybody was dead since they didn't have an ECG?

[Guest guest]

This is where the saved by the bell came from. People were buried with a

cord attached to a bell. A person had the job of sitting by the bell tosee

if it rang. From what I read this was done for centuries.

Re: Use of ekg monitor for verification of asystole

we didn't have lawyers then.

heheh, sorry. no offense.

That is a good point that you make and I am happy to know that the

medics don't need to attach an ECG to some decapitated individual.

nothing more,

sean

On Tuesday, Jan 6, 2004, at 23:31 US/Central, wegandy1938@...

composed:

> After all, people were pronounced dead for

> thousands of years before the ECG was invented. How did our

> forefathers ever know

> anybody was dead since they didn't have an ECG?