The Collapsed Athlete: General Principles

Ryan A Keenan; Sourav K Poddar; Alex Ebinger; Eric McCarty

doi:10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.002

The Collapsed Athlete: General Principles

Clin Sports Med. 2023 Jul;42(3):345-354. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.002. Epub 2023 Apr 6.

Authors

Ryan A Keenan¹, Sourav K Poddar², Alex Ebinger³, Eric McCarty⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Colorado. Electronic address: Ryan.Keenan@cuanschutz.edu.
² Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA; Department of Orthopedics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Colorado.

PMID: 37208051
DOI: 10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.002

Abstract

The collapsed athlete encompasses multiple critical and noncritical pathologic conditions, management of which highly depends on the elements of presentation of an athlete, the environment in which the athlete presents, and the key history elements leading to the collapse. Early identification of an unresponsive/pulseless athlete with basic life support/CPR, AED use, and EMS activation is key, with the addition of early hemorrhage control in acute traumatic injuries. The initiation of a focused history and physical examination is critical to rule out life-threatening causes of collapse and to guide initial management and disposition.

Keywords: Athlete; Collpased athlete; Sports medicine.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Athletes*
Emergency Medicine*
Humans
Sports Medicine*