Intensive Postresuscitation Treatment May Improve Short-Term Survival from Cardiac Arrest

Using a cardiac arrest registry in Slovenia, researchers compared outcomes between comatose survivors of nontraumatic cardiac arrest with both shockable and nonshockable initial rhythms during two periods: conservative treatment (1995 to 2003; 274 patients) and intensified treatment (2004 to 2012; 551 patients).

Use of interventions increased from the conservative- to intensified-care periods. Among 580 patients with shockable rhythms, use of therapeutic hypothermia increased from 1% to 93%; immediate invasive coronary interventions from 28% to 78%; intraaortic balloon pump from 4% to 21%; vasopressor/inotropes from 47% to 81%; and antibiotic administration from 65% to 86%. During this period, neurologically favorable survival increased from…