Sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in young adults.

AIMS: Data on sports-related sudden cardiac arrest (SrSCA) among young adults in the general population are scarce. We aimed to determine the overall SrSCA incidence, characteristics, and outcomes in young adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: Prospective cohort study of all cases of SrSCA between 2012 and 2019 in Germany and Paris area, France, involving subjects aged 18-35 years. Detection of SrSCA was achieved via multiple sources, including emergency medical services (EMS) reporting and web-based screening of media releases. Cases and aetiologies were centrally adjudicated. Overall, a total of 147 SrSCA (mean age 28.1 ± 4.8 years, 95.2% males) occurred, with an overall burden of 4.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.85-6.68] cases per million-year, including 12 (8.2%) cases in young competitive athletes. While bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated in 114 (82.6%), automated external defibrillator (AED) use by bystanders occurred only in a minority (7.5%). Public AED use prior to EMS arrival (odds ratio 6.25, 95% CI 1.48-43.20, P = 0.02) was the strongest independent predictor of survival at hospital discharge (38.1%). Among cases that benefited from both immediate bystander CPR and AED use, survival rate was 90.9%. Coronary artery disease was the most frequent aetiology (25.8%), mainly through acute coronary syndrome (86.9%). CONCLUSION: Sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in the young occurs mainly in recreational male sports participants. Public AED use remains disappointingly low, although survival may reach 90% among those who benefit from both bystander CPR and early defibrillation. Coronary artery disease is the most prevalent cause of SrSCA in young adults.

Cumulative dose of epinephrine and mode of death after non-shockable out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a registry-based study.

BACKGROUND: Epinephrine increases the chances of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), especially when the initial rhythm is non-shockable. However, this drug could also worsen the post-resuscitation syndrome (PRS). We assessed the association between epinephrine use during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and subsequent intensive care unit (ICU) mortality in patients with ROSC after non-shockable OHCA. METHODS: We used data prospectively collected in the Sudden Death Expertise Center (SDEC) registry (capturing OHCA data located in the Greater Paris area, France) between May 2011 and December 2021. All adults with ROSC after medical, cardiac and non-cardiac causes, non-shockable OHCA admitted to an ICU were included. The mode of death in the ICU was categorized as cardiocirculatory, neurological, or other. RESULTS: Of the 2,792 patients analyzed, there were 242 (8.7%) survivors at hospital discharge, 1,004 (35.9%) deaths from cardiocirculatory causes, 1,233 (44.2%) deaths from neurological causes, and 313 (11.2%) deaths from other etiologies. The cardiocirculatory death group received more epinephrine (4.6 ± 3.8 mg versus 1.7 ± 2.8 mg, 3.2 ± 2.6 mg, and 3.5 ± 3.6 mg for survivors, neurological deaths, and other deaths, respectively; p < 0.001). The proportion of cardiocirculatory death increased linearly (R2 = 0.92, p < 0.001) with cumulative epinephrine doses during CPR (17.7% in subjects who did not receive epinephrine and 62.5% in those who received > 10 mg). In multivariable analysis, a cumulative dose of epinephrine was strongly associated with cardiocirculatory death (adjusted odds ratio of 3.45, 95% CI [2.01-5.92] for 1 mg of epinephrine; 12.28, 95% CI [7.52-20.06] for 2-5 mg; and 23.71, 95% CI [11.02-50.97] for > 5 mg; reference 0 mg; population reference: alive at hospital discharge), even after adjustment on duration of resuscitation. The other modes of death (neurological and other causes) were also associated with epinephrine use, but to a lesser extent. CONCLUSIONS: In non-shockable OHCA with ROSC, the dose of epinephrine used during CPR is strongly associated with early cardiocirculatory death. Further clinical studies aimed at limiting the dose of epinephrine during CPR seem warranted. Moreover, strategies for the prevention and management of PRS should take this dose of epinephrine into consideration for future trials.

Trends in survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with a shockable rhythm and its association with bystander resuscitation: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Over 300 000 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur each year in the USA and Europe. Despite decades of investment and research, survival remains disappointingly low. We report the trends in survival after a ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia OHCA, over a 13-year period, in a French urban region, and describe the simultaneous evolution of the rescue system. METHODS: We investigated four 18-month periods between 2005 and 2018. The first period was considered baseline and included patients from the randomised controlled trial 'DEFI 2005'. The three following periods were based on the Paris Sudden Death Expertise Center Registry (France). Inclusion criteria were non-traumatic cardiac arrests treated with at least one external electric shock with an automated external defibrillator from the basic life support team and resuscitated by a physician-staffed ALS team. Primary outcome was survival at hospital discharge with a good neurological outcome. RESULTS: Of 21 781 patients under consideration, 3476 (16%) met the inclusion criteria. Over all study periods, survival at hospital discharge increased from 12% in 2005 to 25% in 2018 (p<0.001), and return of spontaneous circulation at hospital admission increased from 43% to 58% (p=0.004).Lay-rescuer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and telephone CPR (T-CPR) rates increased significantly, but public defibrillator use remained limited. CONCLUSION: In a two-tiered rescue system, survival from OHCA at hospital discharge doubled over a 13-year study period. Concomitantly, the system implemented an OHCA patient registry and increased T-CPR frequency, despite a consistently low rate of public defibrillator use.

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a registry study.

AIMS: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) without return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) despite conventional resuscitation is common and has poor outcomes. Adding extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (extracorporeal-CPR) is increasingly used in an attempt to improve outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed a prospective registry of 13 191 OHCAs in the Paris region from May 2011 to January 2018. We compared survival at hospital discharge with and without extracorporeal-CPR and identified factors associated with survival in patients given extracorporeal-CPR. Survival was 8% in 525 patients given extracorporeal-CPR and 9% in 12 666 patients given conventional-CPR (P = 0.91). By adjusted multivariate analysis, extracorporeal-CPR was not associated with hospital survival [odds ratio (OR), 1.3; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.8-2.1; P = 0.24]. By conditional logistic regression with matching on a propensity score (including age, sex, occurrence at home, bystander CPR, initial rhythm, collapse-to-CPR time, duration of resuscitation, and ROSC), similar results were found (OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.5-1.3; P = 0.41). In the extracorporeal-CPR group, factors associated with hospital survival were initial shockable rhythm (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.5-10.3; P = 0.005), transient ROSC before ECMO (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.7; P = 0.03), and prehospital ECMO implantation (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.5-5.9; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In a population-based registry, 4% of OHCAs were treated with extracorporeal-CPR, which was not associated with increased hospital survival. Early ECMO implantation may improve outcomes. The initial rhythm and ROSC may help select patients for extracorporeal-CPR.

Temporal trends in the use of targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest and association with outcome: insights from the Paris Sudden Death Expertise Centre.

PURPOSE: Recent doubts regarding the efficacy may have resulted in a loss of interest for targeted temperature management (TTM) in comatose cardiac arrest (CA) patients, with uncertain consequences on outcome. We aimed to identify a change in TTM use and to assess the relationship between this change and neurological outcome. METHODS: We used Utstein data prospectively collected in the Sudden Death Expertise Center (SDEC) registry (capturing CA data from all secondary and tertiary hospitals located in the Great Paris area, France) between May 2011 and December 2017. All cases of non-traumatic OHCA patients with stable return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were included. After adjustment for potential confounders, we assessed the relationship between changes over time in the use of TTM and neurological recovery at discharge using the Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC) scale. RESULTS: Between May 2011 and December 2017, 3925 patients were retained in the analysis, of whom 1847 (47%) received TTM. The rate of good neurological outcome at discharge (CPC 1 or 2) was higher in TTM patients as compared with no TTM (33% vs 15%, P < 0.001). Gender, age, and location of CA did not change over the years. Bystander CPR increased from 55% in 2011 to 73% in 2017 (P < 0.001) and patients with a no-flow time longer than 3 min decreased from 53 to 38% (P < 0.001). The use of TTM decreased from 55% in 2011 to 37% in 2017 (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the rate of patients with good neurological recovery remained stable (19 to 23%, P = 0.76). After adjustment, year of CA occurrence was not associated with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: We report a progressive decrease in the use of TTM in post-cardiac arrest patients over the recent years. During this period, neurological outcome remained stable, despite an increase in bystander-initiated resuscitation and a decrease in "no flow" duration.

Characteristics and clinical assessment of unexplained sudden cardiac arrest in the real-world setting: focus on idiopathic ventricular fibrillation.

Aims: Recent studies have shown that in more than half of apparently unexplained sudden cardiac arrests (SCA), a specific aetiology can be unmasked by a careful evaluation. The characteristics and the extent to which such cases undergo a systematic thorough investigation in real-life practice are unknown. Methods and results: Data were analysed from an ongoing study, collecting all cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Paris area. Investigations performed during the index hospitalization or planned after discharge were gathered to evaluate the completeness of assessment of unexplained SCA. Between 2011 and 2016, among the 18 622 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, 717 survivors (at hospital discharge) fulfilled the definition of cardiac SCA. Of those, 88 (12.3%) remained unexplained after electrocardiogram, echocardiography, and coronary angiography. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging yielded the diagnosis in 25 (3.5%) cases, other investigations accounted for 14 (2.4%) additional diagnoses, and 49 (6.8%) patients were labelled as idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) (48.7 ± 15 years, 69.4% male). Among those labelled IVF, only 8 (16.3%) cases benefited from a complete workup (including pharmacological testing). Younger patients [odds ratio (OR) 6.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80-22.26] and those admitted to university centres (OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.12-12.45) were more thoroughly investigated. Genetic testing and family screening were initiated in only 9 (18.4%) and 12 (24.5%) cases, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that complete investigations are carried out in a very low proportion of unexplained SCA. Standardized, systematic approaches need to be implemented to ensure that opportunities for specific therapies and preventive strategies (including relatives) are not missed.

Temporal Trends Over a Decade of Defibrillator Therapy for Primary Prevention in Community Practice.

BACKGROUND: Technology and clinical practice surrounding the use of the primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are in a state of constant evolution. The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis of significant temporal trends in characteristics and outcomes over a decade of ICD therapy. METHODS: Between 2002 and 2012, 5,539 consecutive patients (age 62.5 ± 11 years, 84.9% male), with ischemic or nonischemic cardiomyopathy, implanted with a primary prevention ICD from 12 centers in France were included. Information on characteristics and outcomes (including causes of death) were evaluated over a median follow-up of 994 days (466-1,667). RESULTS: In addition to a shift in the type of devices implanted with a significant increase in cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D) over time (43.6 to 60.4%, P = 0.0001), an increase in mean age (from 61.5 ± 11.6 to 63.2 ± 10.9 years, P = 0.0016), proportion of nonischemic cardiomyopathy (31.0 to 44.7%, P <0.0001) and women recipients (11.4 to 15.8%, P = 0.004) was observed. A total of 1,181 patients (22.3%) received ≥1 appropriate therapy, inappropriate therapies occurred in 355 patients (6.7%) and 826 patients (15.2%) died, mainly from cardiovascular causes (49.3%). Annual mortality incidence (5.4% to 4.3%, P = 0.05), as well as incidence of appropriate therapy (10.4% to 7.1%, P = 0.0004), significantly decreased over the decade. By contrast, incidence of ICD-related late (>30 days after implant) complications significantly increased (4.6 to 7.6%, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate significant changes in patterns of use and outcomes in primary prevention ICD over the last decade with reductions in mortality and appropriate therapies, counterbalanced by an increase in complications.

Dual- vs. single-chamber defibrillators for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death: long-term follow-up of the Défibrillateur Automatique Implantable-Prévention Primaire registry.

AIMS: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are an effective primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. We examined whether dual-chamber (DC) ICDs confer a greater benefit than single-chamber (SC) ICDs, and compared the long-term outcomes of recipients of each type of device implanted for primary prevention. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between 2002 and 2012, the DAI-PP registry consecutively enrolled 1258 SC- and 1280 DC-ICD recipients at 12 French medical centres. The devices were interrogated at 4- to 6-month intervals during outpatient visits, with a focus on the therapies delivered. The study endpoints were incidence of appropriate therapies, ICD-related morbidity, and deaths from all and from specific causes. The mean age of the SC- and DC-ICD recipients was 59 ± 12 and 62 ± 11 years, respectively (P< 0.0001). The distribution of genders, New York Heart Association functional classes and glomerular filtration rates, and the rates of ischaemic vs. dilated cardiomyopathies and of defibrillation tests at implant, were similar in both study groups. The rates of periprocedural complications were 12.1% in the DC- vs. 8.8% in the SC-ICD groups (P= 0.008). Over a mean follow-up of 3.1 ± 2.2 years, pulse generators were replaced in 21.9% of the DC- vs. 13.6% of the SC-ICD group (P< 0.0001). The proportions of patients treated with ≥1 appropriate therapies (24.7 vs. 23.8%) and ≥1 inappropriate shocks (8.4 vs. 7.8%), and all-cause mortality (12.4 vs. 13.2%) were similar in both groups. CONCLUSION: In this large registry of ICD implanted for primary prevention, DC-ICDs were associated with higher rates of peri-implant complications and generator replacements, whereas the survival and rates of inappropriate shocks were similar in both groups. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: NCT#01992458.

Early Identification of Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest With No Chance of Survival and Consideration for Organ Donation.

BACKGROUND: In patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), care requirements can conflict with the need to promptly focus efforts on organ donation in patients who are pronounced dead. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate objective criteria for identifying patients with OHCA with no chance of survival during the first minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation to enable prompt orientation toward organ donation. DESIGN: Retrospective assessment using OHCA data from 2 registries and 1 trial. SETTING: France (Paris Sudden Death Expertise Center [SDEC] prospective cohort [2011 to 2014] and PRESENCE multicenter cluster randomized trial [ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01009606] [2009 to 2011]) and the United States (King County, Washington, prospective cohort [2006 to 2011]). PATIENTS: 1771 patients from the Paris SDEC 1-year cohort (2011 to 2012) and 5192 from the validation cohorts. MEASUREMENTS: Evaluation of 3 objective criteria (OHCA not witnessed by emergency medical services personnel, nonshockable initial cardiac rhythm, and no return of spontaneous circulation before receipt of a third 1-mg dose of epinephrine), survival rate at hospital discharge among patients meeting these criteria, performance of the criteria, and number of patients eligible for organ donation. RESULTS: In the Paris SDEC 1-year cohort, the survival rate among the 772 patients with OHCA who met the objective criteria was 0% (95% CI, 0.0% to 0.5%), with a specificity of 100% (CI, 97% to 100%) and a positive predictive value of 100% (CI, 99% to 100%). These results were verified in the validation cohorts. Ninety-five (12%) patients in the Paris SDEC 1-year cohort may have been eligible for organ donation. LIMITATION: Several patients had unknown outcomes. CONCLUSION: Three objective criteria enable the early identification of patients with OHCA with essentially no chance of survival and may help in decision making about the organ donation process. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: French Ministry of Health.

The CAHP (Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis) score: a tool for risk stratification after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

AIMS: Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains disappointingly low. Among patients admitted alive, early prognostication remains challenging. This study aims to establish a stratification score for patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) after OHCA, according to their neurological outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS: The CAHP (Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis) score was developed from the Sudden Death Expertise Center registry (Paris, France). The primary outcome was poor neurological outcome defined as Cerebral Performance Category 3, 4, or 5 at hospital discharge. Independent prognostic factors were identified using logistic regression analysis and thresholds defined to stratify low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups. The CAHP score was validated in both a prospective and an external data set (Parisian Cardiac Arrest Registry). The developmental data set included 819 patients admitted from May 2011 to December 2012. After multivariate analysis, seven variables were independently associated with poor neurological outcome and subsequently included in the CAHP score (age, non-shockable rhythm, time from collapse to basic life support, time from basic life support to return of spontaneous circulation, location of cardiac arrest, epinephrine dose, and arterial pH). Three risks groups were identified: low risk (score ≤150, 39% of unfavourable outcome), medium risk (score 150-200, 81% of unfavourable outcome) and high-risk group (score ≥200, 100% of unfavourable outcome). The AUC of the CAHP score were 0.93, and the discrimination value in the validation data sets was consistent (respectively, AUC 0.91 and 0.85). CONCLUSION: The CAHP score represents a simple tool for early stratification of patients admitted in ICU after OHCA. A high-risk category of patients with very poor prognosis can be easily identified.

Population movement and sudden cardiac arrest location.

BACKGROUND: Although the benefits of automatic external defibrillators are undeniable, their effectiveness could be dramatically improved. One of the key issues is the disparity between the locations of automatic external defibrillators and sudden cardiac arrests (SCAs). METHODS AND RESULTS: From emergency medical services and other Parisian agencies, data on all SCAs occurring in public places in Paris, France, were prospectively collected between 2000 and 2010 and recorded using 2020 grid areas. For each area, population density, population movements, and landmarks were analyzed. Of the 4176 SCAs, 1255 (30%) occurred in public areas, with a highly clustered distribution of SCAs, especially in areas containing major train stations (12% of SCAs in 0.75% of the Paris area). The association with population density was poor, with a nonsignificant increase in SCAs with population density (P=0.4). Occurrence of public SCAs was, in contrast, highly associated with population movements (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis including other landmarks in each grid cell in the model and demographic characteristics, population movement remained significantly associated with the occurrence of SCA (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.63; P<0.0001), as well as grid cells containing train stations (odds ratio, 3.80; 95% confidence interval, 2.66-5.36; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Using a systematic analysis of determinants of SCA in public places, we demonstrated the extent to which population movements influence SCA distribution. Our findings also suggested that beyond this key risk factor, some areas are dramatically associated with a higher risk of SCA.

Survival from sports-related sudden cardiac arrest: In sports facilities versus outside of sports facilities.

BACKGROUND: We sought to evaluate frequency, characteristics, and outcomes of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) during sports activities according to the location of occurrence (in sports facilities vs those occurring outside of sports facilities). METHODS AND RESULTS: This is an observational 5-year prospective national French survey of subjects 10 to 75 years old presenting with SCA during sports (2005-2010), in 60 French administrative regions (covering a population of 35 million people). Of the 820 SCA during sports, 426 SCAs (52%) occurred in sports facilities. Overall, a substantially higher survival rate at hospital discharge was observed among SCA in sports facilities (22.8%, 95% CI 18.8-26.8) compared to those occurring outside (8.0%, 95% CI 5.3-10.7) (P < .0001). Patients with SCA in sports facilities were younger (42.1 vs 51.3 years, P < .0001) and less frequently had known cardiovascular diseases (P < .0001). The events were more often witnessed (99.8% vs 84.9%, 0.0001), and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation was more frequently initiated (35.4% vs 25.9%, P = .003). Delays of intervention were significantly shorter when SCA occurred in sports facilities (9.3 vs 13.6, P=0.03), and the proportion of initially shockable rhythm was higher (58.8% vs 33.1%, P < .0001). Better survival in sports facilities was mainly explained by concomitant circumstances of occurrence (adjusted odds ratio 1.48, 95% CI 0.88-2.49, P = .134). CONCLUSIONS: Sports-related SCA is not a homogeneous entity. The 3-fold higher survival rate reported among sports-related SCA is mainly due to cases that occur in sports facilities, whereas SCA during sports occurring outside of sports facilities has the usual very low rate of survival.

Controlled donation after circulatory death in post-cardiac arrest patients: Estimates from a large registry.

BACKGROUND: Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) in post-anoxic brain injury is a valuable source of organs that is still underused in some countries. We assessed the number of potential cDCD donors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Paris and its suburbs and extrapolated the results to the French population. METHODS: Using the large regional registry of the Great Paris area, we prospectively included all consecutive adults with OHCA with a stable return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) who ultimately died in the intensive care unit (ICU) after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (WLST) due to post anoxic brain injury. The primary endpoint was potential for organ donation by cDCD in this population. The number of potential cDCD donors was calculated and extrapolated to the entire French population. RESULTS: Between 2011 and 2018, 4638 patients with stable ROSC were admitted to ICUs after OHCA, and 3170 died in ICU, of which 1034 died after WLST due to post-anoxic brain injury. When considering French criteria, 421/1034 patients (41%) would have been potential cDCD donors (55 patients per year in a 4.67 million population). After standardization for age and sex, the potential for cDCD was 515 (95% CI 471-560) patients per year in France corresponding to an annual incidence of 1.18 per 100 000 inhabitants per year. CONCLUSIONS: Organ donation by cDCD after cardiac arrest could provide a large pool of donors in France.

HIV status and lay bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation initiation for witnessed cardiac arrest.

INTRODUCTION: Early initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by bystanders of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) significantly improves survival and neurological outcomes. However, misconceptions about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission risk during CPR can deter lay bystanders from performing resuscitation. The aim of this study was to compare the rate of CPR initiation by lay bystanders who witnessed OHCA in subjects with and without HIV infection. METHODS: We analysed data from the two French cardiac arrest registries (SDEC and RéAC) from 2012 to 2020. We identified HIV-positive individuals from the French National Health Insurance database for the SDEC registry, and directly from the RéAC registry data. We used logistic regression models to assess the association between CPR initiation by lay bystanders and the victim's HIV status. RESULTS: Of 58,177 witnessed OHCA cases, 192 (0.3%) occurred in HIV-positive subjects. These individuals were younger, more often male, and presented more shockable initial rhythms compared with subjects without HIV. Overall, there was no difference in the CPR initiation rate according to the HIV status (57.3% vs 47.6%, adjusted odds ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.83-1.48). The CPR initiation rate also did not differ by location between victims with or without HIV (home: 57.7% vs 45.4%; public places: 56.0% vs 53.6%; p for interaction = 0.46). Survival and neurological outcomes at hospital discharge did not differ based on the HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that the rate of CPR initiation by lay bystanders did not differ between HIV and non-HIV subjects during OHCA.

Analysis during chest compressions in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, a cross/sectional study: The DEFI 2022 study.

AIMS: During out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), an automatic external defibrillator (AED) analyzes the cardiac rhythm every two minutes; however, 80% of refibrillations occur within the first minute post-shock. We have implemented an algorithm for Analyzing cardiac rhythm While performing chest Compression (AWC). When AWC detects a shockable rhythm, it shortens the time between analyses to one minute. We investigated the effect of AWC on cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, we compared patients treated in 2022 with AWC, to a historical cohort from 2017. Inclusion criteria were OHCA patients with a shockable rhythm at the first analysis. Primary endpoint was the chest compression fraction (CCF). Secondary endpoints were cardiac rhythm evolution and survival, including survival analysis of non-prespecified subgroups. RESULTS: In 2017 and 2022, 355 and 377 OHCAs met the inclusion criteria, from which we analyzed the 285 first consecutive cases in each cohort. CCF increased in 2022 compared to 2017 (77% [72-80] vs 72% [67-76]; P < 0.001) and VF recurrences were shocked more promptly (53 s [32-69] vs 117 s [90-132]). Survival did not differ between 2017 and 2022 (adjusted hazard-ratio 0.96 [95% CI, 0.78-1.18]), but was higher in 2022 within the sub-group of OHCAs that occurred in a public place and within a short time from call to AED switch-on (adjusted hazard ratio 0.85[0.76-0.96]). CONCLUSIONS: OHCA patients treated with AWC had higher CCF, shorter time spent in ventricular fibrillation, but no survival difference, except for OHCA that occurred in public places with short intervention time.

Factors associated with circulatory death after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a population-based cluster analysis.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a common cause of death. Early circulatory failure is the most common reason for death within the first 48 h. This study in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with OHCA was designed to identify and characterize clusters based on clinical features and to determine the frequency of death from refractory postresuscitation shock (RPRS) in each cluster. METHODS: We retrospectively identified adults admitted alive to ICUs after OHCA in 2011-2018 and recorded in a prospective registry for the Paris region (France). We identified patient clusters by performing an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (without mode of death among the variables) based on Utstein clinical and laboratory variables. For each cluster, we estimated the hazard ratio (HRs) for RPRS. RESULTS: Of the 4445 included patients, 1468 (33%) were discharged alive from the ICU and 2977 (67%) died in the ICU. We identified four clusters: initial shockable rhythm with short low-flow time (cluster 1), initial non-shockable rhythm with usual absence of ST-segment elevation (cluster 2), initial non-shockable rhythm with long no-flow time (cluster 3), and long low-flow time with high epinephrine dose (cluster 4). RPRS was significantly associated with this last cluster (HR, 5.51; 95% confidence interval 4.51-6.74). CONCLUSIONS: We identified patient clusters based on Utstein criteria, and one cluster was strongly associated with RPRS. This result may help to make decisions about using specific treatments after OHCA.

Differential Effect of Targeted Temperature Management Between 32 °C and 36 °C Following Cardiac Arrest According to Initial Severity of Illness: Insights From Two International Data Sets.

BACKGROUND: Recent guidelines have emphasized actively avoiding fever to improve outcomes in patients who are comatose following resuscitation from cardiac arrest (ie, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest). However, whether targeted temperature management between 32 °C and 36 °C (TTM32-36) can improve neurologic outcome in some patients remains debated. RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there an association between the use of TTM32-36 and outcome according to severity assessed at ICU admission using a previously derived risk score? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Data prospectively collected in the Sudden Death Expertise Center (SDEC) registry (France) between May 2011 and December 2017 and in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Continuous Chest Compressions (ROC-CCC) trial (United States and Canada) between June 2011 and May 2015 were used for this study. Severity at ICU admission was assessed through a modified version of the Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (mCAHP) score, divided into tertiles of severity. The study explored associations between TTM32-36 and favorable neurologic status at hospital discharge by using multiple logistic regression as well as in tertiles of severity for each data set. RESULTS: A total of 2,723 patients were analyzed in the SDEC data set and 4,202 patients in the ROC-CCC data set. A favorable neurologic status at hospital discharge occurred in 728 (27%) patients in the French data set and in 1,239 (29%) patients in the North American data set. Among the French data set, TTM32-36 was independently associated with better neurologic outcome in the tertile of patients with low (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.15-2.30; P = .006) and high (adjusted OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.06-3.54; P = .030) severity according to mCAHP at ICU admission. Similar results were observed in the North American data set (adjusted ORs of 1.36 [95% CI, 1.05-1.75; P = .020] and 2.42 [95% CI, 1.38-4.24; P = .002], respectively). No association was observed between TTM32-36 and outcome in the moderate groups of the two data sets. INTERPRETATION: TTM32-36 was significantly associated with a better outcome in patients with low and high severity at ICU admission assessed according to the mCAHP score. Further studies are needed to evaluate individualized temperature control following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Three-year trends in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest across the world: Second report from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

BACKGROUND: The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) Research and Registries Working Group previously reported data on systems of care and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in 2015 from 16 national and regional registries. To describe the temporal trends with updated data on OHCA, we report the characteristics of OHCA from 2015 through 2017. METHODS: We invited national and regional population-based OHCA registries for voluntary participation and included emergency medical services (EMS)-treated OHCA. We collected descriptive summary data of core elements of the latest Utstein style recommendation during 2016 and 2017 at each registry. For registries that participated in the previous 2015 report, we also extracted the 2015 data. RESULTS: Eleven national registries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and 4 regional registries in Europe were included in this report. Across registries, the estimated annual incidence of EMS-treated OHCA was 30.0-97.1 individuals per 100,000 population in 2015, 36.4-97.3 in 2016, and 40.8-100.2 in 2017. The provision of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) varied from 37.2% to 79.0% in 2015, from 2.9% to 78.4% in 2016, and from 4.1% to 80.3% in 2017. Survival to hospital discharge or 30-day survival for EMS-treated OHCA ranged from 5.2% to 15.7% in 2015, from 6.2% to 15.8% in 2016, and from 4.6% to 16.4% in 2017. CONCLUSION: We observed an upward temporal trend in provision of bystander CPR in most registries. Although some registries showed favourable temporal trends in survival, less than half of registries in our study demonstrated such a trend.