Abstract 81: Early Access to Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory for Patients Resuscitated from Cardiac Arrest Due to a Shockable Rhythm: The Minnesota Resuscitation Consortium Twin Cities Unified Protocol Two-Year Report
Background: Cardiac arrest patients that have been successfully resuscitated from shockable rhythms have a high prevalence of thrombotic and/or flow limiting coronary occlusion regardless of the presence of STEMI on the ECG. In 2012, the Minnesota Resuscitation Consortium (MRC) developed an organized approach for all those patients to gain early access to the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL). We report the two-year outcomes. Methods: Eleven metropolitan hospitals with 24/7 PCI capabilities agreed to provide early (within 2 hours of arrival to the emergency department) access to the CCL for all patients that were successfully resuscitated from VF/VT arrest regardless of the presence or absence of STEMI on the surface ECG. Inclusion criteria were: witnessed or un-witnessed, age >18 and <70, cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac etiology, comatose or conscious patients. Patients with PEA or asystole, known DNR/DNI, non-cardiac etiology, significant bleeding of any cause, terminal disease were excluded. Patient outcomes were recorded in the state database Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival. Results: A total of 370 patients were resuscitated and met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 313 (85%) patients were taken to the CCL per protocol. The mean age was 55.5 years, 77% were men and 79% had witnessed arrest. Only 57 patients (15%) did not gain access to the CCL. Of the 313 patients that had early coronary angiography a total of 47% received primary angioplasty and had at least one vessel disease and 5% received coronary artery bypass. All comatose patients received therapeutic hypothermia and 35% received and implantable cardiac defibrillator. A total of 235/313 (75%) were discharged alive and of those 222/235 (94.5%) were discharged neurologically intact with a CPC of 1. Of the patients that did not gain access to the CCL, 46% (26/57) were discharged alive and of those 73% (19/26) had CPC of 1 [OR: 3.63; 2.03-6.5, p< 0.001]. Conclusions: Over the first two years of implementation, the MRC protocol for early access to the CCL in resuscitated patients from shockable rhythm was associated with 75% survival to hospital discharge and excellent neurological outcomes in a large metropolitan area and real-life clinical practice.