Cardiac arrest: asystole: precordial thump restarted the heart

Clinical bottom line (level 4)

  1. A quarter of patients in cardiac arrest who received a thump on the precordium regained an output.
Scherf and Bornemann: American Journal of Cardiology 1960; 1 (1): 30-40
Expires October 2003

The study

Case series with objective outcomes, not adjusted for confounding factors, not validated in an independent set of patients.

Setting: acute hospital, USA

11 patients (aged 53 to 80; mean 73, ?% male) in cardiac arrest (asystole or ventricular fibrillation)
given a precordial thump


Outcomes studied:
  • resuscitation after precordial thump

    • The evidence

    outcome time to outcome number of patients/total number %
    (95% CI)
    resuscitation after precordial thump ? 3/11 27%
    (1.0% to 54%)

    Citation

    1. Scherf D, and Bornemann C: Thumping of the precordium in ventricular standstill. American Journal of Cardiology 1960; 1 (1): 30-40
    Contributor: Chris Ball and Clare Wotton, October 1998
    Reviewer:

    Clinical Question.
    Patient cardiac arrest
    Intervention or Exposure precordial thump
    Outcome resuscitation