scholarly journals Comparison of two strategies for managing in-hospital cardiac arrest

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jafer Haschemi ◽  
Ralf Erkens ◽  
Robert Orzech ◽  
Jean Marc Haurand ◽  
Christian Jung ◽  
...  

AbstractIn-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is associated with poor outcomes. There are currently no standards for cardiac arrest teams in terms of member composition and task allocation. Here we aimed to compare two different cardiac arrest team concepts to cover IHCA management in terms of survival and neurological outcomes. This prospective study enrolled 412 patients with IHCA from general medical wards. From May 2014 to April 2016, 228 patients were directly transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) for ongoing resuscitation. In the ICU, resuscitation was extended to advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) (Load-and-Go [LaG] group). By May 2016, a dedicated cardiac arrest team provided by the ICU provided ACLS in the ward. After return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), the patients (n = 184) were transferred to the ICU (Stay-and-Treat [SaT] group). Overall, baseline characteristics, aetiologies, and characteristics of cardiac arrest were similar between groups. The time to endotracheal intubation was longer in the LaG group than in the SaT group (6 [5, 8] min versus 4 [2, 5] min, p = 0.001). In the LaG group, 96% of the patients were transferred to the ICU regardless of ROSC achievement. In the SaT group, 83% of patients were transferred to the ICU (p = 0.001). Survival to discharge did not differ between the LaG (33%) and the SaT (35%) groups (p = 0.758). Ultimately, 22% of patients in the LaG group versus 21% in the SaT group were discharged with good neurological outcomes (p = 0.857). In conclusion, we demonstrated that the cardiac arrest team concepts for the management of IHCA did not differ in terms of survival and neurological outcomes. However, a dedicated (intensive care) cardiac arrest team could take some load off the ICU.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Chandru ◽  
Tatum Priyambada Mitra ◽  
Nitesh Dutt Dhanekula ◽  
Mark Dennis ◽  
Adam Eslick ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Refractory out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is associated with extremely poor outcomes. However, in selected patients extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) may be an effective rescue therapy, allowing time treat reversible causes. The primary goal was to estimate the potential future caseload of eCPR at historically 'low-volume' extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centres. Methods A 3-year observational study of OHCA presenting to the Emergency Department (ED of an urban referral centre without historical protocolised use of eCPR. Demographics and standard Utstein outcomes are reported. Further, an a priori analysis of each case for potential eCPR eligibility was conducted. A current eCPR selection criteria (from the 2-CHEER study) was used to determine eligibly. Results In the study window 248 eligible cardiac arrest cases were included in the OHCA registry. 30-day survival was 23.4% (n=58). The mean age of survivors was 55.4 years. 17 (6.8%) cases were deemed true refractory arrests and fulfilled the 2-CHEER eligibility criteria. The majority of these cases presented within “office hours” and no case obtained a return of spontaneous circulation standard advanced life support. Conclusions In this contemporary OHCA registry a significant number of refractory cases were deemed potential eCPR candidates reflecting a need for future interdisciplinary work to support delivery of this therapy.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088506662090680
Author(s):  
Natalie Achamallah ◽  
Jeffrey Fried ◽  
Rebecca Love ◽  
Yuri Matusov ◽  
Rohit Sharma

Introduction: Absence of pupillary light reflex (PLR) is a well-studied indicator of poor neurologic recovery after cardiac arrest. Interpretation of absent PLR is difficult in patients with hypothermia or hypotension, or who have electrolyte or acid-base disturbances. Additionally, many studies exclude patients who receive epinephrine or atropine from their analysis on the basis that these drugs are thought to abolish the PLR. This observational cohort study assessed for presence or absence of PLR in in-hospital cardiac arrest patients who received epinephrine with or without atropine during advanced cardiac life support and achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Methods: Pupil size and reactivity were assessed in adult patients who had an in-hospital cardiac arrest, received epinephrine with or without atropine, and achieved ROSC. Measurements were taken using a NeurOptics NPi-200 infrared pupillometer. Results: Forty patients had pupillometry performed within 1 hour (median: 6 minutes) after ROSC. Of these only 1 (2.5%) patient had nonreactive pupils at first measurement after ROSC. The remaining 39 (97.5%) had reactive pupils. Of the 19 patients who had pupils checked within 3 minutes of ROSC, 100% had reactive pupils. Degree of pupil responsiveness was not correlated with cumulative dose of epinephrine. Ten patients received atropine in addition to epinephrine, including the sole patient with nonreactive pupils. The remaining 9 (90%) had reactive pupils. Conclusion: Epinephrine and atropine do not abolish the PLR in patients who achieve ROSC after in-hospital cardiac arrest. Lack of pupillary response in the post-arrest patient should not be attributed to these drugs.


CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 809-811
Author(s):  
Adam Bignucolo ◽  
Adam Parent ◽  
Mark Dube ◽  
John Kusnierczyk ◽  
Dominique Ansell ◽  
...  

SUMMARYRefractory ventricular fibrillation encountered during cardiac arrest has a mortality rate of 97%.1 As per the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) guidelines, the management algorithm of ventricular fibrillation consists of chest compressions, epinephrine, defibrillation, and anti-arrhythmics.2 There have been reports describing the use of the fast-acting selective β-blocker, esmolol, and dual-sequential defibrillation in the management of ventricular fibrillation that is refractory to standard ACLS. We present a case of a 24-year-old male who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with refractory ventricular fibrillation despite high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and ACLS management. Along with standard ACLS, triple-sequential defibrillation was used to achieve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after 82 minutes of downtime. An electrocardiogram (ECG) after ROSC showed an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI), and the patient underwent angiography showing a 100% occlusion of his left anterior descending artery. Following management of his coronary artery disease, he was discharged from the hospital 16 days later and was neurologically intact.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 286-292
Author(s):  
Choung Ah Lee ◽  
Gi Woon Kim ◽  
Yu Jin Kim ◽  
Hyung Jun Moon ◽  
Yong Jin Park ◽  
...  

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of cardiac arrest recognition by emergency medical dispatch on the pre-hospital advanced cardiac life support and to investigate the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Method: This study was conducted to evaluate the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients over 18 years of age, excluding trauma and poisoning patients, from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2016. We investigated whether it was a cardiac-arrest recognition at dispatch. We compared the pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation, the rate of survival admission and discharge, good neurological outcome, and also analyzed the time of securing vein, time of first epinephrine administration, and arrival time of paramedics. Results: A total of 3695 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients occurred during the study period, and 1468 patients were included in the study. Resuscitation rate by caller was significantly higher in the recognition group. The arrival interval between the first and second emergency service unit was shorter as 5.1 min on average, and the connection rate of paramedics and physicians before the arrival was 32.3%, which was significantly higher than that of the unrecognized group. The mean time required to first epinephrine administration was 13.1 min, which was significantly faster in the recognition group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in patients with good neurological outcome, and rather the rate of return of spontaneous circulation and survival discharge was significantly higher in the non-recognition group. Conclusion: Although the recognition of cardiac arrest at dispatch does not directly affect survival rate and good neurological outcome, the activation of pre-hospital advanced cardiac life support and the shortening the time of epinephrine administration can increase pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation. Therefore, effort to increase recognition by dispatcher is needed.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 138 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Grunau ◽  
Takahisa Kawano ◽  
John Tallon ◽  
Frank Scheuermeyer ◽  
Joshua Reynolds ◽  
...  

Objective: There is conflicting data in studies investigating the effectiveness of advanced life support (ALS) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Within a tiered BLS-ALS system, we sought to determine if the ALS response interval was associated with patient outcomes. Methods: This secondary analysis examined prospectively identified consecutive non-traumatic adult OHCAs from 2006-2016 in British Columbia. We excluded EMS-witnessed arrests and those not treated by ALS. The primary and secondary outcomes were survival and favorable neurological outcomes (mRS ≤3) at hospital discharge. Using logistic regression we estimated the association of ALS response interval (9-1-1 call to ALS arrival) and outcomes, adjusting for treatment year, response interval of the first EMS unit, and other baseline characteristics. We drew spline curves to illustrate this relationship. Results: Of 12,722 included cases, survival was 12%. The median response interval for the first EMS unit was 6.4 minutes (IQR 5.2 - 8.3) and for ALS was 11.8 minutes (IQR 8.7 - 16.5).The adjusted odds of survival and favourable neurological outcome for each additional minute in ALS response interval were 0.98 (95 % CI 0.96-0.99) and 0.98, (95% CI 0.97-0.99) respectively. The spline curve demonstrated an initial decline in survival probability that moderated at approximately 11 minutes. Conclusion: Among ALS-treated subjects within our tiered EMS system, earlier ALS arrival was associated with improved survival and favorable neurological outcomes. The greatest yield of ALS care may be prior to 11 minutes. This may help inform the optimal deployment configuration of prehospital providers.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 144 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahbod Rahimi ◽  
Paul Dorian ◽  
Sheldon Cheskes ◽  
Gerald Lebovic ◽  
Steve Lin

Purpose: The effects of amiodarone and lidocaine on the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), relative to time to treatment in out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients is unknown. We conducted a post-hoc analysis of the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Amiodarone, Lidocaine, Placebo (ROC ALPS) randomized trial examining the association of time to treatment with ROSC at emergency department (ED) arrival. Method: In the ROC ALPS trial, adults with non-traumatic OHCA with initial VF/pVT after ≥ 1 shock were randomized to receive amiodarone, lidocaine or placebo. We used logistic regression to examine the association of time to treatment (911 call to study drug administration interval) with ROSC at ED arrival. Results: Overall, 1112 (36.7%) patients had ROSC at ED arrival. Time to treatment data were available for 2994 (99%) of the patients. The proportion of patients with ROSC at ED arrival decreased as time to drug administration increased, in amiodarone (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.90-0.94 per min increase), lidocaine (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.96) and placebo (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.96) arms. The odds of ROSC at ED in the amiodarone group (versus placebo) changed in relation to the time of drug administration (OR 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93-0.99). With short times to drug administration, ROSC was higher in amiodarone versus placebo recipients, whereas ROSC was higher with placebo at later times. Comparing lidocaine to placebo, ROSC rate increased at all times (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.07-1.59); there was no time to drug administration effect (OR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.97-1.03). Among all patients, survival at hospital discharge was 21.0%, 24.4%, and 23.7% for placebo, amiodarone and lidocaine respectively. Conclusion: Amiodarone’s efficacy in restoring ROSC declined with longer duration of arrest, potentially due to its adverse hemodynamic effects. Overall, amiodarone and lidocaine had similar effects on mortality; in this study, ROSC at ED arrival trend did not reflect the overall survival rate


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn J White ◽  
Sarah A Cantrell ◽  
Robert Cronin ◽  
Shawn Koser ◽  
David Keseg ◽  
...  

Introduction Long pauses without chest compressions (CC) have been identified in CPR provided by EMS professionals for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA). The 2005 AHA ECC CPR guidelines emphasize CC. The 2005 AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Professionals (HCP) course introduced a training method with more CPR skills practice during the DVD based course. The purpose of this before/after study was to determine whether CC rates increased after introduction of the 2005 course. Methods This urban EMS system has 400 cardiac etiology OOHCA events annually. A convenience sample of 49 continuous electronic ECG recordings of VF patients was analyzed with the impedance channel of the LIFEPAK 12 (Physio-Control, Redmond WA) and proprietary software. A trained researcher verified the automated analysis. Each CC during the resuscitation attempt and pauses in CC before and after the first defibrillation shock were noted. The time of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was determined by medical record review and onset of regular electrical activity without CC. Medical records were reviewed for outcome to hospital discharge. The EMS patient care protocol for VF was changed on July 1, 2006 to comply with the 2005 AHA ECC guidelines. Cases were grouped by the OOHCA date: 9/2004 to 12/31/2006 (pre) and 7/1/2006 to 4/21/2007 (post). EMS personnel began taking the 2005 BLS for HCP course during spring 2006. Monthly courses over 3 years will recertify 1500 personnel. Results 29 cases were analyzed from the pre group and 20 from the post group. Compressions per minute increased from a mean (±SD) of 47 ± 16 pre to 75 ± 33 post (P < 0.01). The mean count of shocks given per victim decreased from 4.5 ± 4.0 pre to 2.8 ± 1.8 post (P < 0.04). The CC pause before the first shock was unchanged (23.6 ± 18.4 seconds to 22.1 ± 17.9). but the CC pause following that shock decreased significantly from 48.7 ± 63.2 to 11.8 ± 22.5 (p=0.008). Rates of ROSC (55% pre, 50% post) and survival to discharge (15% pre, 13% post) were similar. Conclusion Following introduction of the 2005 BLS for HCP course and the EMS protocol change, the quality of CPR delivered to victims of OOHCA improved significantly compared with pre-2006 CPR. The sample size was too small to detect differences in survival rates.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 138 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Krehel ◽  
Clifton W Callaway ◽  
Ankur Doshi ◽  
Jonathan Elmer ◽  
Francis X Guyette ◽  
...  

Introduction: Selection of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients for inclusion in randomized control trials (RCT) presents a challenge. The goal is to enroll patients with severe injury warranting intervention yet exclude those with extreme irreversible disease. Selection early after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is complicated by a relative paucity of prognostic variables. We examined the accuracy of enrollment criteria in the iNO OHCA study (NCT03079102) in excluding patients likely to have good or poor outcomes within three hours (3h) of ROSC. Methods: OHCA patients arriving to two tertiary care centers in Pittsburgh were screened within 3h of ROSC. We excluded subjects that followed commands (good prognosis expected) and subjects expected to have poor prognosis based on: Full Outline of UnResponsiveness Brainstem (FOUR B) score <2; CPR time >40 min; investigator estimate of >95% mortality; CT evidence of cerebral edema or intracranial hemorrhage; clinical evidence of myoclonic status epilepticus; or traumatic OHCA etiology. We also excluded subjects not within 3h of ROSC. We compared discharge survival and good neurologic outcome based on disposition (location). Results: Over a nine-month period we screened 155 patients with ROSC following OHCA, 20 subjects (13%) were included in the study and 135 (87%) were excluded ( Table ). The odds ratio (OR) of survival if excluded for poor prognosis was 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01 - 0.08) and worsened when >1 criteria were met. Exclusion for good prognosis was associated with improved survival (OR = 67.2 [95% CI: 14.3 - 316.3]). Conclusions: Our criteria reliably exclude OHCA subjects with good or poor prognosis within 3h of ROSC, yielding a study population with intermediate survival which can be applicable to future OHCA trials. Our criteria selected a minority (13%) of OHCA patients likely to benefit from intervention while reserving resources.


2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ra Charles ◽  
F Lateef ◽  
V Anantharaman

Introduction The concept of the chain of survival is widely accepted. The four links viz. early access, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early defibrillation and early Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) are related to survival after pre-hospital cardiac arrest. Owing to the dismal survival-to-discharge figures locally, we conducted this study to identify any weaknesses in the chain, looking in particular at bystander CPR rates and times to Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and ACLS. Methods and materials A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Emergency Department of an urban tertiary 1500-bed hospital. Over a 12-month period, all cases of non-trauma out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were evaluated. Results A total of 142 cases of non-trauma out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were identified; the majority being Chinese (103/142, 72.5%) and male (71.8%) with a mean age of 64.3±7.8 years (range 23–89 yrs). Most patients (111/142, 78.2%) did not receive any form of life support until arrival of the ambulance crew. Mean time from collapse to arrival of the ambulance crew and initiation of BCLS and defibrillation was 9.2±3.5 minutes. Mean time from collapse to arrival in the Emergency Department (and thus ACLS) was 16.8±7.1 minutes. Three patients (2.11%) survived to discharge. Conclusion There is a need to (i) facilitate layperson training in bystander CPR, and (ii) enhance paramedic training to include ACLS, in order to improve the current dismal survival outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Singapore.


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