Do IV Meds Matter in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest?

Use of IV drugs did not affect long-term neurological outcome or survival.

Intravenous access and drug administration have long been central elements of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocols despite the absence of evidence that they improve outcomes. In a randomized, controlled, nonblinded trial, 851 consecutive adult patients with out-of-hospital, nontraumatic cardiac arrest in Oslo, Norway from 2003 to 2008 were randomized to receive ACLS with IV access and drug administration (epinephrine, atropine, and amiodarone were used) or ACLS with no IV access.

In the group that received ACLS with no IV access, IV access was established within 5 minutes after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). In both groups, patients with ventricular fibrillation received cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 3 minutes before…

Reviewing Author

John A. Marx, MD, FAAEM