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Overview :
It is futile to
resuscitate a person when the person is obviously dead or if the injuries are
obviously fatal. Attempting to resuscitate in such a situation is a useless
expenditure of money and effort, and it needlessly exposes the responders to
possible injury.
Obviously
dead:
(1) dependent
lividity
(2) rigor
mortis
(3)
decomposition
Obviously fatal
injuries:
(1)
decapitation
(2)
hemicorporectomy
(3) complete
incineration
(4) evisceration
of the heart
Unrecoverable
injuries:
(1) trauma score
of 1 for 10 minutes or more
(2) underwater
submersion for more than 2 hours
(3) severe crush
injury to head and torso
(4) multiple
extremity amputations without signs of life
(5) penetrating
cranial injuries with extrusion of brain tissue and no signs of
life
| References: | |
Frame SB. Chapter 7: Prehospital care.
pages 103-126 (page 121). IN: Mattox KL, Feliciano DV, Moore EE (editors).
Trauma, Fourth Edition. McGraw-Hill. 2000.
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