Resuscitation
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Post-cardiac arrest patients are vulnerable to hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury (HIBI), but HIBI may not be identified until computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain is obtained post-resuscitation and stabilization. We aimed to evaluate the association of clinical arrest characteristics with early CT findings of HIBI to identify those at the highest risk for HIBI. ⋯ Signs of HIBI are commonly seen on CT head within 6 hours of OHCA, occurring in approximately half of patients, and are associated with CPR duration. Determining risk factors for abnormal CT findings can help clinically identify patients at higher risk for HIBI and target interventions appropriately.
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Improving rates of organ donation among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who do not survive is an opportunity to save countless lives. The objectives of this scientific statement were to do the following: define the opportunity for organ donation among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; identify challenges and opportunities associated with organ donation by patients with cardiac arrest; identify strategies, including a generic protocol for organ donation after cardiac arrest, to increase the rate and consistency of organ donation from this population; and provide rationale for including organ donation as a key clinical outcome for all future cardiac arrest clinical trials and registries. ⋯ All health systems should develop, implement, and evaluate protocols designed to optimise organ donation opportunities for patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and failed attempts at resuscitation.
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Previous studies have identified pulmonary hypertension (PH) as a relatively common diagnosis in children with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), and preclinical laboratory studies have found poor outcomes and low systemic blood pressures during CPR for PH-associated cardiac arrest. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of PH among children with IHCA and the association between PH diagnosis and intra-arrest physiology and survival outcomes. ⋯ In this prospective study of pediatric IHCA, pre-existing PH was present in 16% of children. Pre-arrest PH diagnosis was not associated with statistically significant differences in survival outcomes or intra-arrest physiologic measures.
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To evaluate the performance of kidney-specific biomarkers (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and cystatin-C) in early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiac arrest (CA) when compared to serum creatinine. ⋯ In post-CA patients, creatinine, NGAL, and cystatin-C (but not KIM-1) measured shortly after ROSC were higher in patients who subsequently developed AKI. No biomarker was statistically superior to creatinine on its own for predicting the development of post-arrest AKI.
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This study evaluated the association between patient race/ethnicity and the odds of AED provision by a lay rescuer in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the United States. ⋯ When compared to White persons, the odds of lay rescuer AED use in OHCA was between 31-38% lower for American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander persons, and 10% higher for Black persons.