Response to Letter Regarding Article “Improved Neurological Outcome With Continuous Chest Compressions Compared With 30:2 Compressions-to-Ventilations Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in a Realistic Swine Model of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest”

Therapeutic hypothermia is beneficial to neurological outcome for comatose survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, there are few data of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for induction of hypothermia for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. We did a prospective study of ECPR with hypothermia for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The criteria for inclusion were an age of 18 to 74 years, a witnessed cardiac arrest, collapse-to-patient’s-side interval <15 minutes, cardiac arrest due to presumed cardiac etiology, and persistent cardiac arrest on ER arrival in spite of the prehospital defibrillations. After arrival at the emergency room, cardiopulmonary bypass plus intra-aortic balloon pumping was immediately performed, and then coronary reperfusion therapy during cardiac arrest was added if needed. Mild hypothermia (34°C for 3 days) was immediately induced during cardiac arrest or after return of spontaneous circulation. We selected suitable patients who received conventional CPR with normothermia among a prospective multi-center observational study of patients who had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Kanto region of Japan “the SOS-KANTO study” for the control group. The primary endpoint was favorable neurological outcome at the time of hospital discharge. A total of 558 patients were enrolled; 127 received ECPR with hypothermia and 431 received conventional CPR with normothermia. The ECPR with hypothermia group had significantly higher frequency of the favorable neurological outcome than the conventional CPR with normothermia group (12% vs. 2%, unadjusted odds ratio, 8.1; 95% CI; 3.2 to 20.0). The adjusted odds ratio for the favorable neurological outcome after ECPR with hypothermia was 7.4 (95% CI; 2.8 to 19.3, p<0.0001). Among the ECPR with hypothermia group, early attainment of a target core temperature of 34°C increased its efficacy (adjusted odds ratio, 0.99; 95% CI; 0.98 to 1.00, p=0.04). ECPR with hypothermia improved the chance of neurologically intact survival for adult patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and the early attainment of a target temperature enhanced its efficacy.

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Abstract 208: A Comprehensive Simulation-Based Training for E-CPR Improves the Neurological Outcome in Patients With Refractory Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.140.suppl_2.208 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 140 (Suppl_2) ◽

Author(s):

Takashi Unoki ◽

Daisuke Takagi ◽

Yudai Tamura ◽

Hiroto Suzuyama ◽

Eiji Taguchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiac Arrest ◽

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽

Neurological Outcome ◽

Intervention Period ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Shockable Rhythm ◽

Time Period ◽

Simulation Based ◽

Favorable Neurological Outcome ◽

Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Background: Prolonged conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (C-CPR) is associated with a poor prognosis in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) has been utilized as a rescue strategy for patients with cardiac arrest unresponsive to C-CPR. However, the indication and optimal duration to switch from C-CPR to E-CPR are not well established. In addition, the opportunities to develop teamwork skills and expertise to mitigate risks are few. We thus developed the implementation protocol for the E-CPR simulation program, and investigated whether the faster deployment of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) improves the neurological outcome in patients with refractory OHCA. Methods: A total of 42 consecutive patients (age 58±16 years, male ratio 90%, and initial shockable rhythm 64%) received E-CPR (3% of OHCA) during the study period. Among them, 32 (76%) were deployed ECMO during the pre-intervention time period (Pre: from January 2012 to September 2017), whereas 10 (24%) were deployed during the post-intervention time period (Post: October 2017 to May 2019). We compared the door to E-CPR time, collapse to E-CPR time, 30-day mortality, and favorable neurological outcome (Cerebral Performance Categories 1, 2) between the two periods. Results: There was no significant difference in age, the rates of male sex and shockable rhythm, and the time form collapse to emergency room admission between the two periods. The door to E-CPR time and the collapse to E-CPR time were significantly shorter in the post-intervention period compared to the pre-intervention period (Pre: 39 min [IQR; 30-50] vs. Post: 29 min [IQR; 22-31]; P=0.007, Pre: 76 min [IQR; 58-87] vs. Post: 59 min [IQR; 44-68]; P=0.02, respectively). The 30-day mortality was similar between the two periods (Pre: 88% vs. Post: 80%; P=0.6). In contrast, the rate of favorable neurological outcome at the time of discharge was significantly higher in post-intervention period (Pre: 0% vs. Post: 20%; P=0.01) compared to the pre-intervention period. Conclusion: A comprehensive simulation-based training for E-CPR seems to improve the neurological outcome in patients with refractory OHCA patients.

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