{
  "abstract": "Background: Rescuer safety during cardiac arrest response and resuscitation is an important consideration that may influence willingness to intervene. This scoping review identifies potential unintentional harms to rescuers responding to cardiac arrest and performing resuscitation.\n\nMethods: This scoping review was reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We searched EMBASE, Medline, and Cochrane from inception to June 16, 2026, including all human studies reporting physical harms during cardiac arrest response or resuscitation (compressions, ventilation, defibrillation). Two investigators screened studies and extracted data. Synthesis was guided by Joanna Briggs Institute methods, with narrative synthesis by harm category.\n\nResults: Twenty studies were included: sixteen provided direct evidence from cardiac arrest or resuscitation, and four provided indirect evidence from elective cardioversion. Of the direct-evidence studies, nine examined infection transmission during CPR, two evaluated electrical exposure from implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) during CPR, two reported physical injuries en route to arrest, and three documented drowning during rescue. Infection transmission rates varied by pathogen but were mitigated by personal protective equipment (PPE). CPR near implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) showed potential for higher leakage. In the four indirect-evidence studies, current leakage to rescuers during external shocks delivered for elective cardioversion remained below safe thresholds. One study reported minor injuries from incorrect opening of locked AED cabinets, and another found that injuries en route to patients were rare (<0.7%). Rescue-related drowning fatalities ranged from 0.02 to 0.08 per 100,000 population annually.\n\nConclusions: This scoping review suggests harms to rescuers during response or resuscitation are rare. Fatal harms have been reported during water rescue. Minor harms include unsafe AED removal, current leakage during ICD shock delivery, performing CPR without appropriate PPE, and minor injuries en route to a cardiac arrest. Indirect evidence from elective cardioversion suggests external defibrillation poses minimal electrical risk.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Wayne State University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States",
    "Paramedicine Department, School of Acute and Primary Health, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Auckland, New Zealand",
    "Clinical Evaluation, Research and Insights, Hato Hone St John, Auckland, New Zealand",
    "Department of Anaesthesiology & Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo and National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka",
    "North York General Hospital, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada",
    "Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Prahran, Victoria, Australia",
    "Prehospital, Resuscitation and Emergency Care Research Unit, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 30,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anthony T. Lagina"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Bridget Dicker"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Vihara Dassanayake"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Katie Dainty"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Laurie J. Morrison"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Janet Bray"
    },
    {
      "name": "Micheal A. Smyth"
    },
    {
      "name": "Micheal A. Smyth"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rebecca Cash"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sung-Phil Chung"
    },
    {
      "name": "Guillaume Debaty"
    },
    {
      "name": "Maya Dewan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Fredrik Folke"
    },
    {
      "name": "Takanari Ikeyama"
    },
    {
      "name": "Carolina Malta Hansen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tetsuo Hatanaka"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nicholas J. Johnson"
    },
    {
      "name": "George Lukas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Siobhan Masterson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chika Nishiyama"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tatsuya Norii"
    },
    {
      "name": "Violetta Raffay"
    },
    {
      "name": "Giuseppe Ristagno"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gavin"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Perkins"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aloka Samantaray"
    },
    {
      "name": "Federico Semeraro"
    },
    {
      "name": "Baljit Singh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Christopher M. Smith"
    },
    {
      "name": "Christian Vaillancourt"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eaa6c1tp2aggy.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.resplu.2026.101507",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13697292/",
  "id": "eaa6c1tp2aggy",
  "issns": [
    "2666-5204"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resplu.2026.101507",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Ilcor 2026"
    ],
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      "2711|Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation"
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  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13697292?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13697292",
  "pmid": "42935790",
  "published": "2026-09-28",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eaa6c1tp2aggy.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:22Z",
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      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resplu.2026.101507"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2711|Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation",
      "subfield": "general"
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  "title": "Potential harms to rescuers during cardiac arrest response and resuscitation: a scoping review",
  "title_text": "Potential harms to rescuers during cardiac arrest response and resuscitation: a scoping review",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/eaa6c1tp2aggy",
  "venue": "Resuscitation Plus",
  "versions": []
}