Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Induced Consciousness: A Case Report

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation induced consciousness is a very rare phenomenon where patients who are in cardiac arrest and undergoing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) express signs of consciousness such as talking, making purposeful limb movements, and opening eyes. This phenomenon leads to frequent CPR interruptions and put the CPR team under psychological pressure, impacting the quality of the resuscitation proceedings. We report presents the case of a 49-year-old man who presented with ischemic chest pain, and then had a witnessed in-hospital cardiac arrest. During the CPR, he gave intermittent signs of consciousness despite the absence of return of spontaneous circulation. The CPR team had to restrain, sedate, and intubate the patient to facilitate the resuscitation process.