Which of the following is not widely used in cardiopulmonary resuscitation: September 2006

Ans. B: Calcium Calcium is contraindicated in CPR Despite the fact that extracellular calcium enhances the contractile force of cardiac muscle, there is no evidence to indicate that calcium administration during CPR improves cardiac performance. In fact ischemia promotes intracellular calcium accumulation, leading to membrane disruption and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation. Because of the risk of calcium accumulation and subsequent cell injury during periods of tissue ischemia, it is indicated when the patient exhibits acute calcium channel blocker toxicity or if there is evidence of ionized hypocalcemia or hyperkalemia.