Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40402061›Full record

ArticleClinical practice and cases in emergency medicine2025

Case Report: Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation Resolved by Double External Defibrillation and Beta Blockade.

Humza Khan, Jennifer Campoli, Susan Wojcik

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Humza KhanUpstate Medical University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Syracuse, New York.
Jennifer CampoliUpstate Medical University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Syracuse, New York.
Susan WojcikUpstate Medical University, Department of Emergency Medicine, Syracuse, New York.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe mortality rate for refractory ventricular fibrillation (RVF) can be up to 97%. There is no widely accepted treatment plan for this stage of ventricular fibrillation besides the standard combination of defibrillation, amiodarone, and epinephrine. One novel approach that has been documented in a select few cases since 2015 is the combination of double external defibrillation (DED) and esmolol-induced beta blockade. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 65-year-old man who presented with RVF after collapsing at work. Upon the simultaneous administration of two defibrillators with a combined shock of 400 joules and 35 milligrams of the beta blocker esmolol, the patient regained pulse and began blinking. He was discharged from the hospital after seven days and walked out of the clinic.

conclusionThis case continues the trend of several case reports since 2015 that have featured beta blockade and double external defibrillation as a viable solution to refractory ventricular fibrillation. Since there is limited quantifiable data on the efficacy of this treatment, future studies should aim to evaluate whether the combination of DED and beta blockade has the potential to become the new standard in treating RVF over a broader patient population.

Identifiers

PMID40402061
PMCPMC12097241

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.