Author: Wang Tiejun, Shanghai Huangning; Zhang Lin, Shanghai Jiaotong University
In the early morning of June 13, 2021, in the group stage of Group B of the European Championship between Denmark and Finland, Danish player Eriksen suddenly fell to the ground during the game, and first responders quickly entered the field for rescue, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillated with AED. Erickson then regained consciousness and was transferred to the hospital.
(In this GIF, you can see first responders performing CPR)
Back in 2003, during the FIFA Confederations Cup, player Marc Vivien Foé suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and was ultimately unable to save him. FIFA then improved the first aid strategy on the field, and this time the rescue was successful.
FIFA First Aid Strategies for Cardiac Arrest in Football Games:
#1 Identification of cardiac arrest
The FIFA website further elaborates on cardiac arrest identification:
Symptoms of cardiac arrest:
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Non-contact falling:
Any player who falls without touching another player, ball, or obstacle should be considered in cardiac arrest until proven otherwise. A player's downfall can be identified by a player present, a referee, a player on the touchline or a member of the sideline medical team, who is expected to be present at all matches.
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No consciousness, no reaction
The player does not respond to any physical or verbal stimuli in any way.
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Abnormal breathing or no breathing
Players who have suffered a cardiac arrest will continue to exhibit normal, rapid breathing for 90 seconds, after which their breathing will become a wheezing type of breathing anomaly, and eventually breathing will stop completely. Normal breathing cannot be misinterpreted, and the player may still be in the SCA.
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Transient epileptiform activity or myoclonic movements
These slow, involuntary movements cannot be mistaken for epilepsy or treated as epilepsy in the first place, as this will lead to delayed diagnosis and resuscitation.
#2 Implementation Steps
Step (1): Identify cardiac arrest and symptoms as soon as it occurs
Step (2): Immediate Response: Enter the field to contact the players without waiting for permission from the referee
Step (3): Determine if the player is unconscious and unresponsive
Step (4): Ask someone to call the stadium medical team or ambulance
Step (5): Immediately perform CPR with chest compressions alone, with firm compressions and rapid compressions
Step (6): Obtain the nearest AED and follow the AED prompts, if there is no AED, continue CPR until the medical team arrives
The original text of the English explanation is as follows:
#3 Emphasize early response and defibrillation within 2 minutes
- If the courtside emergency team responds to a fallen cardiac arrest player with an AED and defibrillation within 2 minutes, the patient survival rate increases to 100%* (quoted from the European Resuscitation Association)
- Know how to recognize, respond and CPR on the pitch
#4 How to Prevent It
- Every club/stadium should be equipped with an AED that is placed close to the pitch during games and training, make sure you know where to place it
- All players are expected to undergo a medical evaluation and have an annual medical examination
- Develop a plan of action for each game in the event of cardiac arrest and practice accordingly
- If possible, do a CPR session so that when a player goes into cardiac arrest, you know how to perform CPR
- The team doctor should monitor the health of the players so that if they are infected with the virus or infection, they can stop them from training and matches
#5 FIFA Statement
“all recommedations outline in this poster are intended for use in FIFA tournaments only do not constitute, and are not intended to constitute, a standard of medical care. these recommendations are not intended to be a substitute for the clinical judgment of the treating medical staff and should be interpreted based on the individual needs of the patient and the specific facts and circumstances presented”
"All proposed outlines in this poster are for FIFA competition purposes only and are not intended to be and are intended to be used as medical emergency standards. These recommendations are not intended to replace the clinical judgment of the medical personnel responsible for treatment, but should be interpreted in the light of the individual needs of the patient and the specific facts and circumstances presented"
In FIFA matches non-contact fall to the ground and no reaction, no need to judge the breath immediately CPR+AED. This is FIFA's first aid policy, and it doesn't apply to all situations, so you still have to judge the reaction and judge the breath.
Only by mastering CPR and AED skills can you have the ability to save people!
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Image source: Original author
Typesetting review|Han Qingling
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