Usefulness of F2-isoprostanes in early prognostication after cardiac arrest: a topical review of the literature and meta-analysis of preclinical data.

Prognostication after cardiac arrest (CA) represents a challenging issue, and several biomarkers have been proposed in the attempt to predict outcome. Among these, F2-isoprostanes stand out as potential biomarkers for early prognostication, providing information on the magnitude of global oxidative injury after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We performed a topical review searching PubMed and Scopus databases to identify studies evaluating the modifications of F2-isoprostanes in the early period after CA, and a meta-analysis of studies providing curves of F2-isoprostanes plasma levels seeking to describe the biomarker's kinetics after CA. Evidence suggests that plasma levels of F2-isoprostanes increase in the early post-resuscitation period and seem well correlated with the burden of ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Our meta-analysis shows a possible increase as early as 5 minutes after ROSC, which persists at 2 hours and is attenuated at 4 hours. Clinical studies are warranted to evaluate the utility of this biomarker for prognostication purposes in CA survivors.