• Ji-ke Li, Jun Wang, and Tian-fa Li.
• Cardiovascular Center of Hainan Medical College, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou, China.
• Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2014 Dec 1; 19 (6): 985-9.

ObjectivesThe management of cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery differs from the management of cardiac arrest under other circumstances. In other studies, interposed abdominal compression-cardiopulmonary resuscitation (IAC-CPR) resulted in a better outcome compared with conventional CPR. The aim of the present study was to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of IAC-CPR compared with conventional CPR in patients with cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery.MethodsData on all cardiac surgical patients who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during the first 24 h after surgery were collected prospectively. Cardiac arrest was defined as the cessation of cardiac mechanical activity with the absence of a palpable central pulse, apnoea and unresponsiveness, including ventricular fibrillation, asystole and pulseless electrical activity. Forty patients were randomized to either conventional CPR (n = 21) or IAC-CPR (n = 19). IAC-CPR was initially performed by compressing the abdomen midway between the xiphoid and the umbilicus during the relaxation phase of chest compression. If spontaneous circulation was not restored after 10-15 min, the surgical team would immediately proceed to resternotomy. The endpoints of the study were safety, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) >5 min, survival to hospital discharge and survival for 6 months.ResultsWith IAC-CPR, there were more patients in terms of ROSC, survival to hospital discharge, survival for 6 months and fewer CPR-related injuries compared with patients who underwent conventional CPR.ConclusionsIAC-CPR is feasible and safe and may be advantageous in cases of cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery.© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

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