Revue médicale de Liège
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Revue médicale de Liège · May 2017
Review[Psychological impact of out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the witness engaged in gestures of survival].
The occurrence of an unexpected sudden death puts the witnesses of this event in a situation of high emotional impact. The benefit to allow the families of victims to dispense the first resuscitation techniques has been emphasized. However, little data exist on the emotional impact of a cardio-respiratory arrest outside the hospital on the witness, who is often a close family member. ⋯ Resuscitation by a person not belonging to the medical corps seems not to be devoid of psychological impact. Indeed, the presence of psychological distress is observed for most of witnesses questioned 6 to 10 days after the call but also 3 months later. This work highlights therefore the importance of identifying the coping strategies involved, in order to promote potentially beneficial strategies and limit the trauma associated with this type of event.