Hemodynamic effects of Vernakalant in cardio-surgical ICU-patients treated for recent-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is one of the most frequent complications after cardiothoracic surgery and a predictor for postoperative mortality and prolonged ICU-stay. Current guidelines suggest the multi-channel inhibitor Vernakalant as a treatment option for rhythm control. However, rare cases of severe hypotension and cardiogenic shock following drug administration have been reported. To elucidate the impact of Vernakalant on hemodynamics, we included ten ICU patients developing POAF after elective cardiac surgery, all of them awake and breathing spontaneously, in this prospective trial. Patients received the recommended dosage of Vernakalant and were clinically observed and monitored (heart rate, invasive blood pressure, pulse oximetry, central venous pressure) in 1-minute-intervals for 20 minutes before- and 120 minutes after the first dose of Vernakalant. The median time from the end of surgery until occurrence of POAF amounted up to 52.8 [45.9-77.4] hours, it took 3.5 [1.2-10.1] hours from occurrence of POAF until the first application of Vernakalant. All patients received catecholamine support with epinephrine that was held steady and not dynamic throughout the observational phase. We noted stable hemodynamic conditions, with a trend towards a reduction in heart rate throughout the 120 minutes after drug administration. In 7 patients (70%), conversion to sustained sinus rhythm (SR) occurred within 8.0 minutes [6.0-9.0]. No serious adverse events (SAEs) were noted during the observation period. In this prospective trial in ICU-patients showing POAF after cardiac surgery, intravenous Vernakalant did not induce clinically relevant negative effects on patients' hemodynamics but resulted in conversion to sustained SR after a median of 8.0 minutes in 7 out of ten patients.

Time of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is not associated with outcome in a metropolitan area: A multicenter cohort study.

AIM: Whether time of day influences survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains controversial. We compared outcomes after OHCA between day and night and explored whether characteristics of pre-hospital advanced life support (ALS)-quality varied by time of day. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of individuals that suffered a non-traumatic OHCA in the city of Vienna between August 2013 and August 2015 and who received resuscitative efforts by EMS. We compared clinical outcomes between day and night, defined as 7:00 pm-7:00 am based on EMS shift time including rates of sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 30-day survival and favourable neurologic outcome (cerebral performance category 1 or 2). ALS quality measures included time to first medical contact, time to first shock, total dose of epinephrine, and multiple ALS performance measures. RESULTS: We included 1811 patients (37% female) with a mean age of 67 ± 16 years in our analyses. Rates of ROSC and 30-day survival with favourable neurological outcome did not differ between day or night (30% vs 28%, p =  0.33; 12% vs. 11%, p =  0.51, respectively). These results remained unchanged after multivariate adjustment for ROSC (RR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3, p = 0.19) and 30-day survival with favourable neurological outcome (RR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0-1.5, p =  0.10). The quality of ALS did not differ between day and night. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to previous studies, there was no significant difference in sustained ROSC rates and 30-day survival with favourable neurological outcome after OHCA between day and night in the city of Vienna. This is likely due to nearly identical high bystander CPR rates and identical ALS performance provided by EMS personnel irrespective of time of the day.

Regional cerebral oxygen saturation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation as a predictor of return of spontaneous circulation and favourable neurological outcome - A review of the current literature.

INTRODUCTION: Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) can be measured non-invasively even at no- or low-flow states. It thus allows assessment of brain oxygenation during CPR. Certain rSO2 values had been associated with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and neurological outcome in the past. Clear-cut thresholds for the prediction of beneficial outcome, however, are still lacking. METHODS: We conducted a database search to extract all available investigations on rSO2 measurement during CPR. Mean, median, and ΔrSO2 values were either taken from the studies or calculated. Thresholds for the outcome "ROSC" and "neurological outcome" were sought. RESULTS: We retrieved 26 publications for the final review. The averaged mean rSO2 for patients achieving ROSC was 41 ±â€¯12% vs. 30 ±â€¯12% for non-ROSC (p = .009). ROSC was not observed when mean rSO2 remained <26%. In ROSC patients, ΔrSO2 was 22 ±â€¯16% vs. 7 ±â€¯10% in non-ROSC patients (p = .009). A rSO2 threshold of 36% predicted ROSC with a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 69% while ΔrSO2 of 7% showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 86% (AUC = 0.733 and 0.893, respectively). Mean rSO2 of 47 ±â€¯11% was associated with favourable and 38 ±â€¯12% with poor neurological outcome. There was, however, a great overlap between groups due to scarce data. CONCLUSION: Higher rSO2 consistently correlated with increased rates of ROSC. The discriminatory power of rSO2 to prognosticate favourable neurological outcome remains unclear. Measuring rSO2 during CPR could potentially facilitate clinical decision-making.

C-reactive protein predicts mortality in patients referred for coronary angiography and symptoms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

AIMS: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has a different pathophysiological background compared to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Tailored risk prediction in this separate heart failure group with a high mortality rate is of major importance. Inflammation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HFpEF because of its significant contribution to myocardial fibrosis. We therefore aimed to assess the predictive value of C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with HFpEF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Plasma levels of CRP were determined in 459 patients with HFpEF in the LUdwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study using a high-sensitivity assay. During a median follow-up of 9.7 years 40% of these patients died. CRP predicted all-cause mortality with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.20 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.40, P = 0.018] and cardiovascular mortality with a HR of 1.32 (95% CI 1.08-1.62, P = 0.005) per increase of one standard deviation. CRP was a significantly stronger mortality predictor in HFpEF patients than in a control group of 522 HFrEF patients (for interaction, P = 0.015). Furthermore, CRP added prognostic value to N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP): the lowest 5-year mortality rate of 6.8% was observed for patients in the lowest tertile of Nt-proBNP as well as CRP. The mortality risk peaked in the group combining the highest values of Nt-proBNP and CRP with a 5-year rate of 36.5%. CONCLUSION: It was found that CRP was an independent and strong predictor of mortality in HFpEF. This observation may reflect immunological processes with an adverse impact on the course of HFpEF.