Cardiac arrest and chewing gum — an unfortunate combination

We report a case of successful resuscitation after cardiac arrest associated with obstruction of the airway by chewing gum. In December 2005, in Port Hedland, Western Australia, a 57-year-old electrician was found unconscious by workmates 5 minutes after he was seen working normally. He was not breathing and had no pulse. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was commenced immediately and an ambulance arrived within 3 minutes. Cardiac monitoring showed the patient was in ventricular fibrillation. Direct-current defibrillation was performed three times, resulting in reversion to ventricular tachycardia, rapid atrial fibrillation and, within minutes, spontaneous reversion to sinus rhythm.