Preventing Harmful Delays with POCUS During Cardiac Arrest
emdocs.netWith the integration of bedside echocardiography into cardiac arrest, we now have a real-time tool to help us glean some of this critical missing information, as well as offer procedural guidance and prognostic data. However, it can be tough to quickly and accurately utilize POCUS in the stress-filled environment surrounding cardiac arrest. For instance, it can take time to acquire images and interpret them, which is often more time than allowed by current guidelines. These suggest that any interruptions in CPR last for a duration of 10 seconds or less with a target chest compression fraction (time during arrest spent performing compressions) of 80%.