Transporting Patients in Cardiac Arrest

[toutdoors]

I posted pretty much the same reply in another forum, but will state what I feel. First and foremost, we must remember that the best thing we can do when transporting a cardiac arrest is to DRIVE PRUDENTLY!!! Just because we are going to the ER code 3, does not mean that we should be taking corners so fast that the rig is tilting, nor should we be swerving through traffic like a drunk monkey. Personally, unless the pt has obvious signs of death, and they are still warm, I prefer to work the code, and transport. Let the Dr and Chaplian do the talking. I have told family members there is nothing we can do, both in the traumatic case of a child having obvious signs of death, and in the case of the spouse of umpteen years is lying in bed, pale, cool, and stiff. I have learned one thing, I hate that part of the job, and prefer that it is left up to the folks in the ER. I guess it also comes from the fact that this is how we have always done it, and I am ok with it,( wow, that sounds like a typical fire service response ) not sure I would be really comfortable doing 20 minutes of ACLS and then packing up our gear. Of course, in our area, the city I work in has a 10 minute response time from the far end of the district, of course out in the counties, the transport time is much greater, and then you need to consider that when we do ALS tiers, the pt has been down for a much longer time frame by the time ACLS is initiated. Of course let's not forget the beancounters, some of these issues may revolve around billing issues.