Airway pressure and outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A prospective observational study.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To assess the usefulness of airway pressure as predictor of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), as well as to investigate the optimized ventilation compression strategy during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). METHODS: In this prospective observational study, 300 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims were intubated and resuscitated with the use of a ventilator. Mean airway pressure (mPaw) was measured at pre-defined phases of CPR. RESULTS: A significant difference in mPaw was observed between survivors and non-survivors after the onset of the third minute of CPR. An mPaw value of 42.5mbar during CPR had specificity and sensitivity of 0.788 and 0.804, respectively, for ROSC (AUC=0.668, p=0.047). During CPR, we found statistically significant differences in mPaw at phases zero (F=4.526, p=0.002), two (F=4.506, p=0.002), four (F=8.187, p<0.0001), five (F=2.871, p=0.024), and six (F=5.364, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Mean airway pressure was higher in survivors. A value of 42.5mbar was associated with ROSC.