Changes in medication preceding out-of-hospital cardiac arrest where resuscitation was attempted.

OBJECTIVE: To describe recent changes in medication preceding out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) where resuscitation was attempted. METHODS: OHCA victims were identified by the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Register and linked by means of their unique 10-digit personal identification numbers to the Prescribed Drug Register. We identified new claimed prescriptions during a 6-month period before the OHCA compared with those claimed in the period 12 to 18 months before. The 7-digit Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical codes of individual drugs were used. The study period was November 2007-January 2011. RESULTS: OHCA victims with drugs were (1) older than those who did not claim any drugs in any period (70 ± 16 years vs. 54 ± 22 years, P < 0.001), (2) more often women (34% vs. 20%, P < 0.001), and (3) had more often a presumed cardiac etiology (67% vs. 54%, P < 0.001). The OHCA victims were less likely to have ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation as the first recorded rhythm (26% vs. 33%, P < 0.001) or to survive 1 month (9% vs. 17%, P < 0.0001). New prescriptions were claimed by 5122 (71%) of 7243 OHCA victims. The most frequently claimed new drugs were paracetamol (acetaminophen) 10.3%, furosemide 7.8%, and omeprazole 7.6%. Of drugs known or supposed to cause QT prolongation, ciprofloxacin was the most frequent (3.4%) altogether; 16% had a new claimed prescription of a drug included in the "qtdrugs.org" lists. CONCLUSIONS: Most OHCA victims had new drugs prescribed within 6 months before the event but most often intended for diseases other than cardiac. No claims can be made as to the causality.

Presumed arrhythmic death in consecutive survivors of acute myocardial infarction--implications for primary implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation.

AIM: To describe the occurrence of arrhythmic death among survivors of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the availability of a primary implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). METHODS: Consecutive patients who fulfilled the criteria for AMI admitted to the Sahlgrenska University Hospital during 21 months were prospectively followed for 2 years with a focus on echocardiography and mode of death. RESULTS: Among the 471 patients, for whom information on ejection fraction (EF) was available and who survived the first week, 10 patients died between days 7 and 30 - of whom one had an arrhythmic death. Among the 461 survivors on day 30, 34 patients (7.4%) had an EF of 30% or less. Among these, 24 were judged to be available for ICD implantation, of whom one died an arrhythmic death during follow-up. Among the remaining 10 patients who were excluded from ICD indication because of either high age and/or severe comorbidity, two patients died an arrhythmic death. Among the remaining 427 patients who had an EF greater than 30%, six died an arrhythmic death. Thus, 10 patients, with EF assessed, died an arrhythmic death between day 7 and 2 years after AMI, but only one would have received an ICD according to the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial II criteria and clinical judgement. CONCLUSION: Of the 471 consecutive survivors of AMI, 10 (2%) died an arrhythmic death, of whom only one would have received an ICD according to current guidelines and clinical judgement. Predictors of subsequent arrhythmic death after an AMI, useful on a per patient basis, remain an unmet need.