The Role of Paramedics in Treating Cardiac Arrest Patients

This report examines the critical role of paramedics in the treatment of cardiac arrest patients. It highlights the importance of their pre-hospital care, including airway management, emergency pharmacology, and the use of therapeutic hypothermia to improve patient outcomes. The report is based on a review of articles published since 2013 and emphasizes the significance of CPR, resuscitation, and hypothermia in restoring circulation and breathing in cardiac arrest cases. The findings underscore the paramedics' autonomy and responsibility in providing life-saving emergency care, ultimately contributing to improved patient survival rates. Desklib provides this and other academic resources for students.

• Paramedics refer to healthcare professionals, predominantly found
to work in pre-hospital and out-of-hospital settings, who form an
integral part of certain emergency medical services (EMS).
• The scope of paramedic practice often varies between different
countries. However, it generally includes the process of
autonomous decision making that is related to emergency care of
patients. One such emergency situation frequently encountered by
the paramedic professionals includes cardiac arrest. This condition
refers to the sudden loss of blood flow that results in failure of the
heart to pump blood in an efficient manner.
• This condition most often leads to loss of consciousness, and
absence of breathing. Thus, a paramedic plays an essential role in
initial assessment of such patients, while providing necessary
emergency care services.
Method
Scope of paramedic practice to improve survival among cardiac arrest
patients
Name of the Student
Name of the University
• The role of a paramedic encompasses managing the airways,
understanding emergency pharmacology, restoring body
temperature, improving neurological outcomes, and enhancing
the overall survival of the patients.
• Paramedics should implement techniques to create an open
pathway in the lungs. Furthermore, chest compressions and
rescue of breathing will also help in providing emergency relief
to the patients.
• Paramedic should also focus on implementing therapeutic
hypothermia to reduce cardiovascular instability, and to protect
the brain from ischemia.
Introduction
A comprehensive search of three electronic database namely,
PubMed, CINAHL, and MEDLINE was conducted with the use of
appropriate search terms and boolean operators. Full-text articles
published in English, on or after 2013 were selected. 5 articles were
selected for the review.
Aim
The review was aimed to identity the potential role of paramedic
professionals in treating patients who have suffered cardiac arrest.
The review also aimed to investigate whether the common
interventions implemented by paramedics improved the survival
rates of cardiac arrest patients
Results
Conclusion
The paramedics are offered higher responsibility and autonomy,
while providing emergency care assistance to all patients. Thus,
the paramedics play an important role in restoring the circulation
and breathing of the cardiac arrest patients by CPR,
resuscitation, and hypothermia.
Authors Summary of findings
Hasegawa K, Hiraide A, Chang Y,
Brown DF. 2013
CPR with advanced airway
management acted as a significant
predictor of poor neurological
outcomes among cardiac arrest
patients, in comparison to the
conventional bag-valve mask
ventilation emergency services
Rubertsson S, Lindgren E, Smekal D,
Östlund O, Silfverstolpe J, Lichtveld RA,
Boomars R, Ahlstedt B, Skoog G,
Kastberg R, Halliwell D. 2014
No major differences were observed in
the 4-hour survival rates of all
patients, having received manual or
mechanical CPR
Nehme Z, Andrew E, Bernard S, Smith
K. 2015
Significant improvements and higher
survival rates, followed by favorable
neurological outcomes were reported
among patients, following arrival or
paramedic professionals
Moler FW, Silverstein FS, Holubkov R,
Slomine BS, Christensen JR, Nadkarni
VM, Meert KL, Clark AE, Browning B,
Pemberton VL, Page K. 2015
No significant difference was observed
in the survival rates of cardiac arrest
patients, who were exposed to
therapeutic hypothermia and
nonhypothermia
Kim F, Nichol G, Maynard C, Hallstrom
A, Kudenchuk PJ, Rea T, Copass MK,
Carlbom D, Deem S, Longstreth WT,
Olsufka M. 2014
Pre-hospital cooling was found to
reduce the core temperature by
hospital arrival and also reduced the
time needed to reach the optimum
temperature of 34°C, but did not affect
survival rate or neurological outcomes
Findings