Introduction:
Survival rates after cardiac arrest with intact brain function remain poor and are not uniformly improved with a single intervention. A bundle of care approach to CPR that enhances cerebral and coronary circulation while simultaneously lowering intracranial pressure (ICP) provides new opportunity to improve neurological survival.
Hypothesis:
Active compression decompression (ACD) CPR and an impedance threshold device (ITD) to regulate intrathoracic pressure with controlled sequential elevation of the head and thorax (CSE) to lower ICP and increase cerebral and coronary (CoPP) perfusion pressures, will increase neurologically intact survival when compared to a conventional (C) CPR in the flat position in pigs.
Methods:
Female farm pigs were sedated, intubated, and anesthetized. Central arterial and venous access were continuously monitored. Regional brain tissue perfusion (CerO2) was also measured transcutaneously. Ventricular fibrillation was induced and untreated for 10 minutes. Pigs were randomized to 1) C-CPR flat or 2) CSE ACD+ITD CPR that included 2 min of ACD+ITD with the head and heart first elevated 10 and 8 cm, respectively, and then further elevation over 2 min to 22 and 9 cm, respectively. After 19 min of CPR, pigs were defibrillated and recovered. A veterinarian blinded to the intervention assessed cerebral performance category (CPC) at 24 hours. A neurologically intact outcome was defined as a CPC score of 1 or 2. Categorical outcomes were analyzed by Chi-Square and continuous outcomes with an unpaired student’s t-test. All p-values are unadjusted.
Results:
Return of spontaneous circulation rate was 8/8 (100%) with CSE and 2/8 (25%) for C-CPR (p = 0.002). For the primary outcome of neurologically intact survival, 6/8 (75%) pigs survived with CPC 1 or 2 with CSE versus 1/8 (12.5%) with C-CPR (p = 0.012). CoPP (mmHg, mean ± SD) was higher with CSE at 18 minutes (41 ± 24 vs 10 ± 5, p = 0.004). CerO2 (%, mean ± SD) and ETCO
2
(mmHg, mean ± SD) values were higher at 18 minutes with CSE (32.2 ± 8.5 vs 16.5 ± 2.1, p = 0.003, and 54.9 ± 8.6 vs 19.1 ± 7.0, p < 0.001), respectively.
Conclusions:
The novel bundled resuscitation approach of CSE with ACD+ITD CPR increased neurologically intact survival 6-fold versus C-CPR in a swine model of cardiac arrest.
Effect of Airway Management and Impedance Threshold Device on Circulation, Survival and Neurological Outcome in Adult Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest