DOI: 10.12890/2025_005308
The Lazarus phenomenon - a remarkable case of spontaneous recovery from cardiac arrest in a do-not-resuscitate patient
Authors
blf@hawaii.edu
Keywords
Lazarus phenomenon, autoresuscitation, cardiac arrestAbstract
The Lazarus phenomenon, or autoresuscitation, is a rare clinical entity defined as the spontaneous return of circulation in patients following cardiac arrest. Here we report the case of an 88-year-old female who suffered cardiac arrest and received no intervention due to her code status. Despite this, she regained a pulse and consciousness after 167 seconds of pulseless ventricular tachycardia and 108 seconds of asystole consecutively, surviving through pacemaker placement and discharging 5 days later with an intact neurological status. We demonstrate that although rare, favorable outcomes with autoresuscitation are possible, even when no intervention is provided. We also provide a novel explanation for her recovery adding to existing theories on the mechanism of autoresuscitation.
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