Impact of Preexisting Depression and Anxiety on Hospital Readmission and Long-Term Survival After Cardiac Arrest

BACKGROUND

While sudden cardiac arrest (CA) survivors are at risk for developing psychiatric disorders, little is known about the impact of preexisting mental health conditions on long-term survival or postacute healthcare utilization. We examined the prevalence of preexisting psychiatric conditions in CA patients who survived hospital discharge, characterized incidence and reason for inpatient psychiatry consultation during these patients' acute hospitalizations, and determined the association of pre-CA depression and anxiety with hospital readmission rates and long-term survival. We hypothesized that prior depression or anxiety would be associated with higher hospital readmission rates and lower long-term survival.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study including patients resuscitated from in- and out-of-hospital CA who survived both admission and discharge from a single hospital between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2017. We identified patients from our prospective registry, then performed a structured chart review to abstract past psychiatric history, prescription medications for psychiatric conditions, and identify inpatient psychiatric consultations. We used administrative data to identify readmissions within 1 year and vital status through December 31, 2020. We used multivariable Cox regressions controlling for patient demographics, medical comorbidities, discharge Cerebral Performance Category and disposition, depression, and anxiety history to predict long-term survival and hospital readmission.

RESULTS

We included 684 subjects. Past depression or anxiety was noted in 24% (n = 162) and 19% (n = 129) of subjects. A minority of subjects (n = 139, 20%) received a psychiatry consultation during the index hospitalization. Overall, 262 (39%) subjects had at least 1 readmission within 1 year. Past depression was associated with an increased hazard of hospital readmission (hazard ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.11-2.04), while past anxiety was not associated with readmission. Neither depression nor anxiety were independently associated with long-term survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression is an independent risk factor for hospital readmission in CA survivors.

The Latest in Resuscitation Research: Highlights From the 2022 American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium

BACKGROUND

Every year the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium (ReSS) brings together a community of international resuscitation science researchers focused on advancing cardiac arrest care.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The American Heart Association's ReSS was held in Chicago, Illinois from November 4th to 6th, 2022. This annual narrative review summarizes ReSS programming, including awards, special sessions and scientific content organized by theme and plenary session.

CONCLUSIONS

By exploring both the science of resuscitation and important related topics including survivorship, disparities, and community-focused programs, this meeting provided important resuscitation updates.

Brain injury after cardiac arrest

As more people are surviving cardiac arrest, focus needs to shift towards improving neurological outcomes and quality of life in survivors. Brain injury after resuscitation, a common sequela following cardiac arrest, ranges in severity from mild impairment to devastating brain injury and brainstem death. Effective strategies to minimise brain injury after resuscitation include early intervention with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, restoration of normal physiology, and targeted temperature management. It is important to identify people who might have a poor outcome, to enable informed choices about continuation or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments. Multimodal prediction guidelines seek to avoid premature withdrawal in those who might survive with a good neurological outcome, or prolonging treatment that might result in survival with severe disability. Approximately one in three admitted to intensive care will survive, many of whom will need intensive, tailored rehabilitation after discharge to have the best outcomes.

Glycopyrrolate does not ameliorate hypothermia associated bradycardia in healthy individuals: A randomized crossover trial

BACKGROUND

Hypothermia improves outcomes following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Shivering is common and can be mediated by agents such as dexmedetomidine. The combination of dexmedetomidine and hypothermia results in bradycardia. We hypothesized that glycopyrrolate would prevent bradycardia during dexmedetomidine-mediated hypothermia.

METHODS

We randomly assigned eight healthy subjects to premedication with a single 0.4 mg glycopyrrolate intravenous (IV) bolus, titrated glycopyrrolate (0.01 mg IV every 3 min as needed for heart rate <50), or no glycopyrrolate during three separate sessions of 3 h cooling. Following 1 mg/kg IV dexmedetomidine bolus, subjects received 20 ml/kg IV 4 °C saline and surface cooling (EM COOLS, Weinerdorf, Austria). We titrated dexmedetomidine infusion to suppress shivering but permit arousal to verbal stimuli. After 3 h of cooling, we allowed subjects to passively rewarm. We compared heart rate, core temperature, mean arterial blood pressure, perceived comfort and thermal sensation between groups using Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA.

RESULTS

Mean age was 27 (SD 6) years and most (N = 6, 75%) were male. Neither heart rate nor core temperature differed between the groups during maintenance of hypothermia (p > 0.05). Mean arterial blood pressure was higher in the glycopyrrolate bolus condition (p < 0.048). Thermal sensation was higher in the control condition than the glycopyrrolate bolus condition (p = 0.01). Bolus glycopyrrolate resulted in less discomfort than titrated glycopyrrolate (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Glycopyrrolate did not prevent the bradycardic response to hypothermia and dexmedetomidine. Mean arterial blood pressure was higher in subjects receiving a bolus of glycopyrrolate before induction of hypothermia. Bolus glycopyrrolate was associated with less intense thermal sensation and less discomfort during cooling.

Gaps in the Provision of Cognitive and Psychological Resources in Cardiac Arrest Survivors with Good Neurologic Recovery

We aimed to elucidate gaps in the provision of cognitive and psychological resources in cardiac arrest survivors. We conducted an online survey study between October 29, 2019, and November 15, 2019 with cardiac arrest survivors and caregiver members of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. We queried survivors as to whether they experienced cognitive or psychological symptoms since their cardiac arrest. Next, we queried both survivors and caregivers on the provision of resources through three metrics: (1) discussions with providers about potential cognitive or psychological symptoms, (2) neurologist or psychologist appointments scheduled by providers, and (3) mental health referrals by providers. We then ran Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests to compare the proportion of survivors and caregivers who reported resource provision (observed values) to the proportion of survivors who reported experiencing cognitive and psychological symptoms, respectively (expected values). We included responses from 167 survivors and 52 caregivers. A total of 73.1% (n = 122) survivors reported experiencing cognitive symptoms and 67.1% (n = 112) psychological symptoms since their cardiac arrest. When compared to these two proportions, provision of resources was significantly lower in all three metrics: (1) fewer discussions with providers about potential for developing cognitive symptoms (31%) and psychological symptoms (26.3%), (2) fewer neurologist appointments scheduled (8.4%) and psychologist appointments scheduled (4.8%), and (3) fewer referrals to mental health (6%). Informal caregivers also reported significantly lower provision of resources in all three metrics, with the exception of discussions about developing cognitive symptoms. Our results suggest that there are discrepancies in the provision of cognitive and psychological resources in cardiac arrest survivors with good neurologic recovery. Systematic referral processes may be needed to standardize resource provision to consistently meet the pervasive cognitive and psychological needs of cardiac arrest survivors.

Electrocardiographic changes in patients undergoing targeted temperature management

OBJECTIVES

Targeted temperature management is the recommended therapy for comatose patients after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation due to the reduction in neurological damage and improved outcomes. However, there may result in electrocardiographic instability depending on the degree of targeted temperature management, including minor or life-threatening dysrhythmias or conduction delays. This project aims to describe the frequency of ECG interval changes and clinically relevant dysrhythmias in targeted temperature management patients.

METHODS

This is a retrospective observational study from January 2009 to December 2015. Patients who qualified for the study had a non-traumatic cardiac arrest with a return of spontaneous circulation, received targeted temperature management at 33.5°C for 24 hours followed by 16 hours of rewarming. ECG interval changes and dysrhythmias were recorded immediately after return of spontaneous circulation, and at 24 and 48 hours post return of spontaneous circulation.

RESULTS

A total of 322 patients (age 61.0 ± 16.9 years) had targeted temperature management initiated during the study period, of which 169 had complete data and 13 died prior to completing 24 hours of hypothermia. There were statistically significant changes during targeted temperature management in heart rate (96.7 ± 26.0/min before targeted temperature management; 69.5 ± 19.1/min during, P < 0.001), QRS duration (115.1 ± 32.6 ms before targeted temperature management; 107.8 ± 27.9 ms during targeted temperature management, P < 0.001), and QTc (486.3 ± 52.8 ms before targeted temperature management; 526.9 ± 61.7 ms during targeted temperature management, P < 0.001). There were cardiac dysrhythmias that received treatment during cooling and rewarming.

CONCLUSION

During the period of targeted temperature management and rewarming, we observed few self-limiting ECG interval changes and no clinically significant dysrhythmias in this population during the period of targeted temperature management.

Hypothermic to ischemic ratio and mortality in post-cardiac arrest patients

BACKGROUND

We studied the associations between ischemia and hypothermia duration, that is, the hypothermic to ischemic ratio (H/I ratio), with mortality in patients included in a trial on two durations of targeted temperature management (TTM) at 33°C.

METHODS

The TTH48 (NCT01689077) trial compared 24 and 48 hours of TTM in patients after cardiac arrest. We calculated the hypothermia time from return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) until the patient reached 37°C after TTM and the ischemic time from CA to ROSC. We compared continuous variables with the Mann-Whitney U test. Using COX regression, we studied the independent association of the logarithmically transformed H/I ratio and time to death as well as interaction between time to ROSC, hypothermia duration, and intervention group. We visualized the predictive ability of variables with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 338 patients, 237 (70%) survived for 6 months. The H/I ratio was 155 (IQR 111-238) in survivors and 114 (IQR 80-169) in non-survivors (P < .001). In a Cox regression model including factors associated with outcome in univariate analysis, the logarithmically transformed H/I ratio was a significant predictor of outcome (hazard ratio 0.52 (0.37-0.72, P = .001)). After removing an outlier, we found no interaction between time to ROSC and intervention group (P = .55) or hypothermia duration in quartiles (P = .07) with mortality. There was no significant difference in the area under the curve (AUC) between time to ROSC and H/I ratio (ΔAUC 0.03 95% CI -0.006-0.07, P = .10).

CONCLUSIONS

We did not find any consistent evidence of a modification of the effect of TTM based on ischemia duration.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivorship: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Cardiac arrest systems of care are successfully coordinating community, emergency medical services, and hospital efforts to improve the process of care for patients who have had a cardiac arrest. As a result, the number of people surviving sudden cardiac arrest is increasing. However, physical, cognitive, and emotional effects of surviving cardiac arrest may linger for months or years. Systematic recommendations stop short of addressing partnerships needed to care for patients and caregivers after medical stabilization. This document expands the cardiac arrest resuscitation system of care to include patients, caregivers, and rehabilitative healthcare partnerships, which are central to cardiac arrest survivorship.

COOL-ARREST: Results from a Pilot Multicenter, Prospective, Single-Arm Observational Trial to Assess Intravascular Temperature Management in the Treatment of Cardiac Arrest

Targeted temperature management (TTM) is recommended postcardiac arrest. The cooling method with the highest safety and efficacy is unknown. The COOL-ARREST pilot trial aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the most contemporary ZOLL Thermogard XP Intravascular Temperature Management (IVTM) system for providing mild TTM postcardiac arrest. This multicenter, prospective, single-arm, observational pilot trial enrolled patients at eight U.S. hospitals between July 28, 2014, and July 24, 2015. Adult (≥18 years old), out-of-hospital cardiac arrest subjects of presumed cardiac etiology who achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were considered for inclusion. Patients were excluded if (1) awake or consistently following commands after ROSC, (2) significant prearrest neurological dysfunction, (3) terminal illness or advanced directives precluding aggressive care, and (4) severe hemodynamic instability or shock. Patient temperature was maintained at 33.0°C ± 0.3°C for a total of 24 hours followed by controlled rewarming (0.1-0.2°C/h). Logistic regressions were used to assess association of good functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale ≤3) measured at the time of hospital discharge with shockable rhythm (yes/no), age, gender, race/ethnicity, lay-rescuer cardiopulmonary resuscitation, time to basic life support (minutes), time to ROSC (minutes), lactate (mg/dL), and pH on admission. The ZOLL IVTM system was effective at inducing TTM (median time to target temperature from initiation, 89 minutes [interquartile range 42-155]). Adverse events most often included electrolyte abnormalities and dysrhythmias. Of patients surviving to hospital discharge, 16/20 patients had a good functional outcome. A total of 18 patients survived through 90-day follow-up, at which time 94% (17/18) of patients had good functional outcome. The COOL-ARREST pilot trial demonstrates high safety and efficacy of the ZOLL Thermogard XP IVTM system in the application of mild TTM postcardiac arrest. This observational trial also revealed noteworthy variability in the management of postcardiac arrest patients, particularly with the use of early withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy.

Variability of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation utilization for refractory adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: an international survey study

Objective

A growing interest in extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) as a rescue strategy for refractory adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) currently exists. This study aims to determine current standards of care and practice variation for ECPR patients in the USA and Korea.

Methods

In December 2015, we surveyed centers from the Korean Hypothermia Network (KORHN) Investigators and the US National Post-Arrest Research Consortium (NPARC) on current targeted temperature management and ECPR practices. This project analyzes the subsection of questions addressing ECPR practices. We summarized survey.

Results

using descriptive statistics.

Results

Overall, 9 KORHN and 4 NPARC centers reported having ECPR programs and had complete survey data available. Two KORHN centers utilized extracorporeal membrane oxygenation only for postarrest circulatory support in patients with refractory shock and were excluded from further analysis. Centers with available ECPR generally saw a high volume of OHCA patients (10/11 centers care for &gt;75 OHCA a year). Location of, and providers trained for cannulation varied across centers. All centers in both countries (KORHN 7/7, NPARC 4/4) treated comatose ECPR patients with targeted temperature management. All NPARC centers and four of seven KORHN centers reported having a standardized hospital protocol for ECPR. Upper age cutoff for eligibility ranged from 60 to 75 years. No absolute contraindications were unanimous among centers.

Conclusion

A wide variability in practice patterns exist between centers performing ECPR for refractory OHCA in the US and Korea. Standardized protocols and shared research databases might inform best practices, improve outcomes, and provide a foundation for prospective studies.

Challenges of Using Probabilistic Linkage Methodology to Characterize Post-Cardiac Arrest Care in Michigan

BACKGROUND

To improve survival of patients resuscitated from out of hospital cardiac arrest (OCHA), data is needed to assess and improve inpatient post-resuscitation care. Our objective was to apply probabilistic linkage methodology to link EMS and inpatient databases and evaluate whether it may be used to describe post-arrest care in Michigan.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study to describe post-cardiac arrest care in adult OHCA patients who were transported to Michigan hospitals from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2013. Using probabilistic linkage methodology we linked two databases, the Michigan EMS Information System (MI_EMSIS) and the Michigan Inpatient Database (MIDB), which describes inpatient care and outcome of all admissions. Rates of case incidence and survival were compared to published literature. We compared the linked dataset to existing cardiac arrest databases from three counties to evaluate the quality of this linkage.

RESULTS

Multiple iterations of match strategies were used to create a linked EMS-inpatient dataset. There were 12,838 MI_EMSIS cardiac arrest records of which 1,977 were matched with MIDB records, identifying them as surviving to hospital admission. Of these 590 (30.0%) survived to hospital discharge. The annual survival incidence/100,000 population to admission was 6.93/100,000 and survival incidence to discharge was 2.1/100,000. The matched dataset was compared to county databases identified a limited sensitivity [48.2%, 95% CI 42.1%-55.3%)] and positive predictive value [64.4%, 95% CI 56.8%-71.3%)].

CONCLUSION

Use of the MI_EMSISEMS database and the Michigan Inpatient database was feasible and produced rates of cardiac arrest admission and survival rates similar to published literature. This process yielded a limited match compared to existing county cardiac arrest databases. We conclude that such a linked dataset is useful for descriptive purposes but not as a population based dataset to evaluate statewide post-cardiac arrest care.

Time to Awakening Is Often Delayed in Patients Who Receive Targeted Temperature Management After Cardiac Arrest

Post cardiac arrest, neuroprognostication remains a complex and clinically challenging issue for critical care providers. For this reason, our primary objective in this study was to determine the frequency of survival and favorable neurological outcomes in post-cardiac arrest patients with delayed time to awakening. To assess whether early withdrawal of care may adversely impact survival, we also sought to describe the time to withdrawal of care of non-surviving patients. We performed a retrospective study of patients resuscitated after cardiac arrest in two large academic community hospitals. We performed a structured chart review of patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) at one hospital from 2009 to 2015 and at a second hospital from 2013 to 2015. Demographics and Utstein style variables were recorded on all patients, as well as temporal variables to characterize the time interval from Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) to awakening as recorded by ICU nurses and defined as Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of >8. Descriptive data were also captured regarding time to withdrawal of care. We pre-hoc defined delayed awakening as >72 hours post ROSC or >72 hours post rewarming. Our primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with a secondary outcome of a favorable cerebral performance category of 1 or 2. During this study period, 321 patients received TH, with 111 (34.6%) discharged alive and, of these, 67 (68.5%) experienced a good neurological outcome. Awakening more than 72 hours after return of circulation was common with 31 patients surviving to discharge. Of these, 16 of 31 (51.6%) were found to have a good neurological outcome on hospital discharge. Of the patients who died before discharge, 54 (29.5%) had care withdrawn less than 72 hours after ROSC. A delayed time to awakening is not infrequently associated with a good neurological outcome after TH in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest.

Association Between Duration of Resuscitation and Favorable Outcome After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Implications for Prolonging or Terminating Resuscitation

BACKGROUND

Little evidence guides the appropriate duration of resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and case features justifying longer or shorter durations are ill defined. We estimated the impact of resuscitation duration on the probability of favorable functional outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using a large, multicenter cohort.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of a North American, single-blind, multicenter, cluster-randomized, clinical trial (ROC-PRIMED [Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Prehospital Resuscitation Using an Impedance Valve and Early Versus Delayed]) of consecutive adults with nontraumatic, emergency medical services-treated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Primary exposure was duration of resuscitation in minutes (onset of professional resuscitation to return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC] or termination of resuscitation). Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with favorable outcome (modified Rankin scale [mRS] score of 0-3). Subjects were additionally classified as survival with unfavorable outcome (mRS score of 4-5), ROSC without survival (mRS score of 6), or without ROSC. Subject accrual was plotted as a function of resuscitation duration, and the dynamic probability of favorable outcome at discharge was estimated for the whole cohort and subgroups. Adjusted logistic regression models tested the association between resuscitation duration and survival with favorable outcome.

RESULTS

The primary cohort included 11 368 subjects (median age, 69 years [interquartile range, 56-81 years]; 7121 men [62.6%]). Of these, 4023 (35.4%) achieved ROSC, 1232 (10.8%) survived to hospital discharge, and 905 (8.0%) had an mRS score of 0 to 3 at discharge. Distribution of cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration differed by outcome (P<0.00001). For cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration up to 37.0 minutes (95% confidence interval, 34.9-40.9 minutes), 99% with an eventual mRS score of 0 to 3 at discharge achieved ROSC. The dynamic probability of an mRS score of 0 to 3 at discharge declined over elapsed resuscitation duration, but subjects with initial shockable cardiac rhythm, witnessed cardiac arrest, and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation were more likely to survive with favorable outcome after prolonged efforts (30-40 minutes). After adjustment for prehospital (odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-0.95) and inpatient (odds ratio, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.95-0.99) covariates, resuscitation duration was associated with survival to discharge with an mRS score of 0 to 3.

CONCLUSIONS

Shorter resuscitation duration was associated with likelihood of favorable outcome at hospital discharge. Subjects with favorable case features were more likely to survive prolonged resuscitation up to 47 minutes.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00394706.

Variability of Post-Cardiac Arrest Care Practices Among Cardiac Arrest Centers: United States and South Korean Dual Network Survey of Emergency Physician Research Principal Investigators

There is little consensus regarding many post-cardiac arrest care parameters. Variability in such practices could confound the results and generalizability of post-arrest care research. We sought to characterize the variability in post-cardiac arrest care practice in Korea and the United States. A 54-question survey was sent to investigators participating in one of two research groups in South Korea (Korean Hypothermia Network [KORHN]) and the United States (National Post-Arrest Research Consortium [NPARC]). Single investigators from each site were surveyed (N = 40). Participants answered questions based on local institutional protocols and practice. We calculated descriptive statistics for all variables. Forty surveys were completed during the study period with 30 having greater than 50% of questions completed (75% response rate; 24 KORHN and 6 NPARC). Most centers target either 33°C (N = 16) or vary the target based on patient characteristics (N = 13). Both bolus and continuous infusion dosing of sedation are employed. No single indication was unanimous for cardiac catheterization. Only six investigators reported having an institutional protocol for withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST). US patients with poor neurological prognosis tended to have WLST with subsequent expiration (N = 5), whereas Korean patients are transferred to a secondary care facility (N = 19). Both electroencephalography modality and duration vary between institutions. Serum biomarkers are commonly employed by Korean, but not US centers. We found significant variability in post-cardiac arrest care practices among US and Korean medical centers. These practice variations must be taken into account in future studies of post-arrest care.

An Assessment of Emergency Department Post-Cardiac Arrest Care Variation in Michigan

Implementation of postarrest care by individual physicians and systems has been slow. Deadoption, or discontinuation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) treatment targets, after recent prospective study results has not been well reported. This study assesses practices in the early stages of postarrest care across emergency departments (EDs) in Michigan. A 27-question Internet-based survey was distributed to EDs in Michigan in September 2013. To assess changes in practice after publication of Nielsen et al., we sent follow-up questions to all original respondents a year later. Observational data and descriptive statistics are reported. From the 142 EDs identified, we excluded critical access hospitals (N = 35), free standing EDs (N = 7), EDs that transfer critical patients to tertiary centers (N = 21), and exclusive children's hospitals (N = 3). Of the remaining 76 hospitals, we received 64 (84.2%) responses. We identified 15 respondents with a protocol to specifically initiate ED TH and transfer patients to a higher level of care. The 49 remaining were mostly teaching institutions (N = 34, 69%) and gave the ED physician the ability to initiate TH (N = 40, 82%). On follow-up 12 months later, we received 33/40 (83%) responses, of which only 5 indicated formal or informal change in TH practice or target temperature. There is substantial variation in the practice of ED postarrest care and initiation of TH across the state of Michigan, but few ED TH protocols were changed in a year's time. The consequences of postarrest treatment variability at the state and ED levels are likely under-recognized as an influence on outcome variation between regions.

Triple Rule Out versus CT Angiogram Plus Stress Test for Evaluation of Chest Pain in the Emergency Department

Introduction

Undifferentiated chest pain in the emergency department (ED) is a diagnostic challenge. One approach includes a dedicated chest computed tomography (CT) for pulmonary embolism or dissection followed by a cardiac stress test (TRAD). An alternative strategy is a coronary CT angiogram with concurrent chest CT (Triple Rule Out, TRO). The objective of this study was to describe the ED patient course and short-term safety for these evaluation methods.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study of adult patients presenting to a large, community ED for acute chest pain who had non-diagnostic electrocardiograms (ECGs) and normal biomarkers. We collected demographics, ED length of stay, hospital costs, and estimated radiation exposures. We evaluated 30-day return visits for major adverse cardiac events.

Results

A total of 829 patients underwent TRAD, and 642 patients had TRO. Patients undergoing TRO tended to be younger (mean 52.3 vs 56.5 years) and were more likely to be male (42.4% vs. 30.4%). TRO patients tended to have a shorter ED length of stay (mean 14.45 vs. 21.86 hours), to incur less cost (median $449.83 vs. $1147.70), and to be exposed to less radiation (median 7.18 vs. 16.6mSv). No patient in either group had a related 30-day revisit.

Conclusion

Use of TRO is feasible for assessment of chest pain in the ED. Both TRAD and TRO safely evaluated patients. Prospective studies investigating this diagnostic strategy are needed to further assess this approach to ED chest pain evaluation.

Full neurologic recovery and return of spontaneous circulation following prolonged cardiac arrest facilitated by percutaneous left ventricular assist device

Sudden cardiac arrest is associated with high early mortality, which is largely related to postcardiac arrest syndrome characterized by an acute but often transient decrease in left ventricular (LV) function. The stunned LV provides poor cardiac output, which compounds the initial global insult from hypoperfusion. If employed early, an LV assist device (LVAD) may improve survival and neurologic outcome; however, traditional methods of augmenting LV function have significant drawbacks, limiting their usefulness in the periarrest period. Full cardiac support with cardiopulmonary bypass is not always readily available but is increasingly being studied as a tool to intensify resuscitation. There have been no controlled trials studying the early use of percutaneous LVADs (pLVADs) in pericardiac arrest patients or intra-arrest as a bridge to return of spontaneous circulation. This article presents a case study and discussion of a patient who arrested while undergoing an elective coronary angioplasty and suffered prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. During resuscitation, treatment included placement of a pLVAD and initiation of therapeutic hypothermia. The patient made a rapid and full recovery.

The impact of severe acidemia on neurologic outcome of cardiac arrest survivors undergoing therapeutic hypothermia

INTRODUCTION

Therapeutic Hypothermia (TH) has become a standard of care in improving neurological outcomes in cardiac arrest (CA) survivors. Previous studies have defined severe acidemia as plasma pH<7.20. We investigated the influence of severe acidemia at the time of initiation of TH on neurological outcome in CA survivors.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on 196 consecutive CA survivors (out-of-hospital CA and in-hospital CA) who underwent TH with endovascular cooling between January 2007 and October 2012. Arterial blood gas drawn prior to initiation of TH was utilized to measure pH in all patients. Shockable and non-shockable CA patients were divided into two sub-groups based on pH (pH<7.2 and pH≥7.2). The primary end-point was measured using the Pittsburgh Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale prior to discharge from the hospital: good (CPC 1 and 2) and poor (CPC 3 to 5) neurologic outcome.

RESULTS

Sixty-two percent of shockable CA patients with pH≥7.20 had good neurological outcome as compared to 34% patients with pH<7.20. Shockable CA patients with pH≥7.20 were 3.3 times more likely to have better neurological outcome when compared to those with pH <7.20 [p=0.013, OR 3.3, 95% CI (1.28-8.45)]. In comparison, non-shockable CA patients with p≥7.20 did not have a significantly different neurological outcome as compared to those with pH<7.20 [p=0.97, OR 1.02, 95% CI (0.31-3.3)].

CONCLUSION

Presence of severe acidemia at initiation of TH in shockable CA survivors is significantly associated with poor neurological outcomes. This effect was not observed in the non-shockable CA survivors.