‘Shaky and surreal’: coping with cardiac arrest in the dental practice

'Shaky and surreal': coping with cardiac arrest in the dental practice

Lydia Austin explains how she managed a patient’s cardiac arrest in her practice and shares her advice for navigating severe medical emergencies.

Earlier this year our practice experienced a severe medical emergency. A patient had a cardiac arrest, and despite our CPR efforts, along with the care delivered by the paramedics, they sadly passed away on our waiting room floor.

Every year I do my medical emergency training for our CPD requirements, talking about emergency drugs, reviewing the emergency drugs kit, practising using the oxygen cylinder and simulating medical emergency scenarios, but deep down hoping that I never really need to use it. 

What happened?

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