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Background:
The benefit of emergent coronary angiography after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is uncertain for patients without ST-segment elevation (STE). The aim of this randomized trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of early coronary angiography and to determine the prevalence of acute coronary occlusion in resuscitated OHCA patients without STE.
Methods:
Adult (>18 years) comatose survivors without STE after resuscitation from OHCA were prospectively randomized in a 1:1 fashion under exception to informed consent regulations to early coronary angiography versus no early coronary angiography in this multi-center study. Early angiography was defined as ≤ 120 minutes from arrival at the percutaneous coronary intervention capable facility. The primary endpoint was a composite of efficacy and safety measures, including efficacy parameters of survival to discharge, favorable neurological status at discharge (Cerebral Performance Category ≤ 2), echocardiographic measures of left ventricular ejection fraction >50% and a normal regional wall motion score of 16 within 24 hours of admission. Adverse events included re-arrest, pulmonary edema on chest x-ray, acute renal dysfunction, bleeding requiring transfusion or intervention, hypotension (systolic arterial pressure ≤90 mmHg), and pneumonia. Secondary endpoints included the incidence of culprit vessels with acute occlusion.
Results:
The study was prematurely terminated before enrolling the target number of patients. A total of 99 patients were enrolled from 2015-2018, including 75 with initially shockable rhythms. Forty-nine patients were randomized to early coronary angiography. The primary endpoint of efficacy and safety was not different between the two groups (55.1% vs 46.0%; p=0.64). Early coronary angiography was not associated with any significant increase in survival (55.1% vs 48.0%; p=0.55 or adverse events (26.5% vs 26.0%; p=1.00). Early coronary angiography revealed a culprit vessel in 47%, with a total of 14% of patients undergoing early coronary angiography having an acutely occluded culprit coronary artery.
Conclusions:
This underpowered study, when considered together with previous clinical trials, does not support early coronary angiography for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest without ST elevation. Whether early detection of occluded potential culprit arteries leads to interventions that improve outcomes requires additional study.
Clinical Trial Registration:
URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02387398
Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a means to support patients with acute respiratory failure. Initially, recommendations to treat severe cases of pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) with ECLS have been restrained. In the meantime, ECLS has been shown to produce similar outcomes in patients with severe COVID‐19 compared to existing data on ARDS mortality. We performed an international email survey to assess how ECLS providers worldwide have previously used ECLS during the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID‐19. A questionnaire with 45 questions (covering, e.g., indication, technical aspects, benefit, and reasons for treatment discontinuation), mostly multiple choice, was distributed by email to ECLS centers. The survey was approved by the European branch of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO); 276 ECMO professionals from 98 centers in 30 different countries on four continents reported that they employed ECMO for very severe COVID‐19 cases, mostly in veno‐venous configuration (87%). The most common reason to establish ECLS was isolated hypoxemic respiratory failure (50%), followed by a combination of hypoxemia and hypercapnia (39%). Only a small fraction of patients required veno‐arterial cannulation due to heart failure (3%). Time on ECLS varied between less than 2 and more than 4 weeks. The main reason to discontinue ECLS treatment prior to patient’s recovery was lack of clinical improvement (53%), followed by major bleeding, mostly intracranially (13%). Only 4% of respondents reported that triage situations, lack of staff or lack of oxygenators, were responsible for discontinuation of ECLS support. Most ECLS physicians (51%, IQR 30%) agreed that patients with COVID‐19‐induced ARDS (CARDS) benefitted from ECLS. Overall mortality of COVID‐19 patients on ECLS was estimated to be about 55%. ECLS has been utilized successfully during the COVID‐19 pandemic to stabilize CARDS patients in hypoxemic or hypercapnic lung failure. Age and multimorbidity limited the use of ECLS. Triage situations were rarely a concern. ECLS providers stated that patients with severe COVID‐19 benefitted from ECLS.
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