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CodeBlue614 t1_j2v44st wrote

Reply to comment by waltwhitman83 in Family Statement for Damar Hamlin by ShepherdsDoof

In a few cases, I’ve had people wake up during CPR. That’s rare. Waking up within the first few hours does happen, and those people tend to do well. The longer he goes without waking up, the more worried I get. When we get to 7-10 days, it’s pretty clear that things aren’t going to go well. Additionally, if I see cranial nerve reflexes that are absent or sluggish, or new seizures, I know things are going badly. If he’s 2 days in, not awake yet, but his reflexes are all normal, he can still have a good recovery.

I know these are long answers, but this stuff is complicated.

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waltwhitman83 t1_j2v4lid wrote

will they be testing his reflexes if he’s sedated on purpose/being cooled?

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CodeBlue614 t1_j2wnq05 wrote

It depends on the depth of sedation. In most patients, we’re aiming to keep a patient calm, but awake, or at most drowsy. If they made the decision for cooling to 32-34 C, he would be more deeply sedated. You can still check reflexes under those circumstances. If they had to use a paralytic to control shivering, then most of those reflexes won’t be there. The pupils will still react to light, so those are still checked. When we do temperature control at 36 C, I keep sedation pretty light, because there tends to be a lot less shivering, and I can greatly reduce the amount of drugs the patient is exposed to.

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