The Lazarus phenomenon, or Lazarus syndrome, is the return of spontaneous circulation once the heart has stopped and CPR has ceased. There have been 38 reported cases since 1982 when the Lazarus phenomenon was first described in medical reporting. A report published Friday in Medical News Today illuminated a daunting dilemma and a new question for the modern era: Should we delay certifying deaths to make sure that people don’t spontaneously resuscitate?
Reportedly, some researchers believe that the medical staff should passively monitor patients who show no signs of life for 10 minutes after they would normally call a time of death, because it is the window of time in which delayed return of spontaneous circulation usually happens. It may seem absurd to delay certifying a death, given how extremely rare Lazarus syndrome is, but as the Medical News Today article pointed out, in a 2016 report Dr. Vaibhav Sahni said “The Lazarus phenomenon is a grossly underreported event.”
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