• Ilan Matok, Amir Vardi, Arie Augarten, Ori Efrati, Leah Leibovitch, Marina Rubinshtein, and Gideon Paret.
• Department of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Safra Children's Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. matoki@zahav.net.il
• Crit. Care Med. 2007 Apr 1;35(4):1161-4.

ObjectiveArginine vasopressin was found in experimental and clinical studies to have a beneficial effect in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The American Heart Association 2000 guidelines recommended its use for adult ventricular fibrillation arrest, and the American Heart Association 2005 guidelines noted that it may replace the first or second epinephrine dose. There is little reported experience with arginine vasopressin in cardiopulmonary resuscitation of children. Terlipressin, a long-acting analog of arginine vasopressin, has recently emerged as a treatment for vasodilatory shock in both adults and in children, but evidence of its effectiveness in the pediatric setting is sparse. The objective of this retrospective study is to describe our experience in adding terlipressin to the conventional protocol in children with cardiac arrest.DesignRetrospective case series study.SettingAn 18-bed pediatric critical care department at a university-affiliated tertiary care children's hospital.PatientsSeven pediatric patients with asystole, aged 2 months to 5 yrs, who experienced eight episodes of refractory cardiac arrest and did not respond to conventional therapy.InterventionsAddition of terlipressin to epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation of children.Measurements And Main ResultsReturn of spontaneous circulation was monitored and achieved in six out of eight episodes of cardiac arrest. One patient died 12 hrs after return of spontaneous circulation, and four patients survived to discharge with no neurologic sequelae.ConclusionsThe combination of terlipressin to epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation may have a beneficial effect in children with cardiac arrest. More studies on this drug's safety and efficacy in this setting are mandated.

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