Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Might Be a Common Cause of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

In this Japanese study, 16% of survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest had subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs in about 9 of every 100,000 people and is often fatal. Its prominence as a cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains unclear. These authors performed brain computed tomography (CT) scans on all patients with witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who had return of spontaneous circulation and systolic blood pressure >80 mm Hg after resuscitation during a 4-year period at one institution in Japan.

Troponin assay findings and initial cardiac rhythm were recorded when available. Of 142 patients, 26 (18%) had intracranial hemorrhage, and 23 of those (16% of the total) had nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Ventricular fibrillation was the initial rhythm in 4% of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage versu…

Reviewing Author

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Might Be a Common Cause of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

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Reviewing Author