Bacteremia Is Common in Out-of-Hospital-Cardiac Arrest

Investigators prospectively observed 250 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients at a single academic center in Detroit during 2 years. After excluding patients who were under 18 years, were pregnant, or had traumatic cardiac arrest, 173 patients remained for analysis. Of these, 38% (65) were bacteremic. There were no differences in average age (about 65 years), sex, race, or comorbidities between bacteremic and nonbacteremic patients. Bacteremic patients had lower arterial pH, higher lactate, higher potassium, and higher creatinine than nonbacteremic patients. While 28-day survival was similar for bacteremic and nonbacteremic groups, emergency department survival was significantly lower in the bacteremic group (25% vs. 40%).