Challenges of remotely witnessed emergencies – A case of international out-of-hospital cardiac arrest recognition via video call

ElsevierVolume 63, January 2023, Pages 182.e1-182.e3The American Journal of Emergency MedicineAuthor links open overlay panelAbstract

We present the first report, to our knowledge, of an Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) witnessed during a remote international video meeting. We report an emergency system activation and OHCA resuscitation initiated after an OHCA in a 41-year-old otherwise healthy female in Houston, Texas witnessed by a co-worker in Australia during a 1-on-1 Zoom video call. Remotely witnessed emergencies such as OHCA present unique challenges to successful cardiac resuscitation and will likely become significantly more common in the future as remote video calls increase.

Introduction

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of death in developed countries with an estimated average global incidence in adults of 95.9/100,000/year [1]. Early activation of the emergency response system, prompt bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR), BCPR telecommunicator assisted BCPR, and guideline based post-arrest care improve survival and the chance for neurological recovery [[2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]]. Arrests witnessed during video-calls, however, face unique challenges. The purpose of this case report is to illustrate challenges encountered during a remotely witnessed OHCA and to offer insight for future research in emergency response activation in remotely witnessed emergencies.

Section snippetsCase report

A 41-year-old asymptomatic previously healthy female resident of Houston, Texas, was on a Zoom video conference call with a work colleague in Australia at approximately 09:20 central time when she collapsed out of view of her camera. After asking several times if she was alright, the patient's co-worker in Australia quickly looked up the patient's spouse's contact information and used an instant messaging system to ask if his wife was alright. The victim's husband, who was not aware his wife

Discussion

A dramatic workplace shift towards utilizing online video meetings has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is estimated that approximately one fifth of U.S. labor force workdays are from home in the post-pandemic economy as many companies move to a hybrid home/office work model [10]. With growth in business and personal video communication, medical emergencies witnessed remotely are increasingly likely.

This scenario illustrates how the current emergency response systems are location

Conclusion

We report an emergency system activation and OHCA resuscitation initiated after an OHCA in a 41-year-old otherwise healthy female in Houston, Texas witnessed by a co-worker in Australia a 1-on-1 Zoom video call. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an OHCA witnessed during a remote international video meeting. Remotely witnessed emergencies including OHCA present unique challenges to successful cardiac resuscitation and will likely become more common in the future as remote video calls

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Samuel B. Beger: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Investigation, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Edward Mejia: Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, Supervision, Methodology. Bentley J. Bobrow: Writing – original draft, Investigation, Conceptualization.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.

Ackowledgements

We acknowledge the Houston Fire Department and 9–1-1 Emergency Dispatch System for their unwavering commitment to emergency care.

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