Abstract Background Although epinephrine is essential for successful return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), the influence of this drug on recovery during the post–cardiac arrest phase is ...debatable. Objectives This study sought to investigate the relationship between pre-hospital use of epinephrine and functional survival among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) who achieved successful ROSC. Methods We included all patients with OHCA who achieved successful ROSC admitted to a cardiac arrest center from January 2000 to August 2012. Use of epinephrine was coded as yes/no and by dose (none, 1 mg, 2 to 5 mg, >5 mg). A favorable discharge outcome was coded using a Cerebral Performance Category 1 or 2. Analyses incorporated multivariable logistic regression, propensity scoring, and matching methods. Results Of the 1,556 eligible patients, 1,134 (73%) received epinephrine; 194 (17%) of these patients had a good outcome versus 255 of 422 patients (63%) in the nontreated group (p < 0.001). This adverse association of epinephrine was observed regardless of length of resuscitation or in-hospital interventions performed. Compared with patients who did not receive epinephrine, the adjusted odds ratio of intact survival was 0.48 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.27 to 0.84) for 1 mg of epinephrine, 0.30 (95% CI: 0.20 to 0.47) for 2 to 5 mg of epinephrine, and 0.23 (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.37) for >5 mg of epinephrine. Delayed administration of epinephrine was associated with worse outcome. Conclusions In this large cohort of patients who achieved ROSC, pre-hospital use of epinephrine was consistently associated with a lower chance of survival, an association that showed a dose effect and persisted despite post-resuscitation interventions. These findings suggest that additional studies to determine if and how epinephrine may provide long-term functional survival benefit are needed.
Purpose
Whether epinephrine or norepinephrine is preferable as the continuous intravenous vasopressor used to treat post-resuscitation shock is unclear. We assessed outcomes of patients with ...post-resuscitation shock after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest according to whether the continuous intravenous vasopressor used was epinephrine or norepinephrine.
Methods
We conducted an observational multicenter study of consecutive patients managed in 2011–2018 for post-resuscitation shock. The primary outcome was all-cause hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were cardiovascular hospital mortality and unfavorable neurological outcome (Cerebral Performance Category 3–5). A multivariate regression analysis and a propensity score analysis were performed, as well as several sensitivity analyses.
Results
Of the 766 patients included in five hospitals, 285 (37%) received epinephrine and 481 (63%) norepinephrine. All-cause hospital mortality was significantly higher in the epinephrine group (OR 2.6; 95%CI 1.4–4.7;
P
= 0.002). Cardiovascular hospital mortality was also higher with epinephrine (aOR 5.5; 95%CI 3.0–10.3;
P
< 0.001), as was the proportion of patients with CPC of 3–5 at hospital discharge. Sensitivity analyses produced consistent results. The analysis involving adjustment on a propensity score to control for confounders showed similar findings (aOR 2.1; 95%CI 1.1–4.0;
P
= 0.02).
Conclusion
Among patients with post-resuscitation shock after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, use of epinephrine was associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular-specific mortality, compared with norepinephrine infusion. Until additional data become available, intensivists may want to choose norepinephrine rather than epinephrine for the treatment of post-resuscitation shock after OHCA.
Women traditionally have been and are still underrepresented in research in many important areas of cardiology, and guideline recommendations which also encompass women are mostly based on research ...conducted predominantly in men. However, there is plausible cause to believe that sex may have a potential influence on the benefit derived from the implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), alone or in association with cardiac resynchronization therapy. We assessed the possible relationship between sex and outcome with ICD implantation in the setting of primary prevention, by pooling the results of MUSTT, MADIT-II, DEFINITE, COMPANION, SCD-HeFT and DANISH trials in a meta-analysis. We pooled results for female and male patients separately. The results suggest that women as a group do not seem to obtain a significant survival benefit from the primary prevention ICD, contrary to men. This in turn may also have contributed to a relative underestimation of the ICD benefit among males when looking at the results in total. It is time for the medical and research communities to actively question the presumed overarching benefit of ICDs irrespective of sex and engage in systematic scientific efforts to definitively evaluate the value of this intervention in women.
Background
Increasing numbers of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are undergoing radiotherapy (RT) for cancer. The aim of the study was to prospectively evaluate the ...incidence, characteristics, and associated factors of CIED dysfunctions related to RT.
Methods
Between April 2013 and March 2020, all patients with a CIED who underwent ≥1 RT session were enrolled. Patients were monitored according to a systematic protocol, including device interrogation before the first and after each RT session. The primary endpoint was CIED dysfunction, defined as oversensing, total or partial deprogramming, and/or unrecoverable reset.
Results
We included a total of 92 CIED RT courses: 77 (83.7%) in patients with a pacemaker and 15 (16.3%) in those with an implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator. Overall, 13 dysfunctions (14.1%) were observed during 92 courses (1509 sessions), giving an incidence of 0.9 per 100 sessions. These included nine deprogramming (three total resets to back‐up pacing mode and six partial deprogramming that were all successfully reprogrammed), three transient oversensing, and one unrecoverable oversensing requiring CIED and leads replacement. There were no adverse clinical events related to device dysfunction. In multivariable analysis, neutron‐producing irradiation (odds ratio OR, 5.59; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.09–28.65; p = .039) and cumulative tumor dose (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01–1.10; p = .007) remained significantly associated with CIED dysfunction.
Conclusion
In this prospective study, transient or permanent subclinical CIED dysfunction occurred in 14.1% of RT courses. Our findings emphasize the importance of high‐energy beams and neutron‐producing irradiation in risk assessment.
Dabigatran etexilate, a new thrombin inhibitor, has been shown to be comparable to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there is a limited body of evidence on the efficacy and ...safety of using dabigatran among patients undergoing AF catheter ablation.
A random effects meta-analysis was performed of controlled trials comparing dabigatran and warfarin in paroxysmal/persistent AF patients undergoing catheter ablation.
Data sources included Medline, Embase, and Cochrane (from inception to April 2013). Three independent reviewers selected studies comparing warfarin to dabigatran. Descriptive and quantitative information was extracted from each selected study, regarding periprocedural all cause mortality, thromboembolic events and major bleeding, as well as modalities of periprocedural anticoagulation bridging.
After a detailed screening of 228 search results, 14 studies were identified enrolling a total of 4782 patients (1823 treated with dabigatran and 2959 with warfarin). No deaths were reported. No significant differences were found between patients treated with dabigatran and warfarin as regards thromboembolic events (0.55% dabigatran vs 0.17% warfarin; risk ratios (RR)=1.78, 95% CI 0.66 to 4.80; p=0.26) and major bleeding (1.48% dabigatran vs 1.35% warfarin; RR=1.07, 95% CI 0.51 to 2.26; p=0.86). No difference was found between the 110 mg twice daily and 150 mg twice daily dabigatran dosages concerning major bleeding (0% vs 1.62%, respectively; RR=0.19, 95% CI 0.01 to 3.18; p=0.25) and thromboembolism (0% vs 0.40%, respectively; RR=0.72, 95% CI 0.04 to 12.98; p=0.82).
In the specific setting of AF catheter ablation, this first pooled analysis suggests that patients treated with dabigatran have a similar incidence of thromboembolic events and major bleeding compared to warfarin, with low event rates overall.
Background Holter analysis requires significant clinical resources to achieve a high‐quality diagnosis. This study sought to assess whether an artificial intelligence (AI)‐based Holter analysis ...platform using deep neural networks is noninferior to a conventional one used in clinical routine in detecting a major rhythm abnormality. Methods and Results A total of 1000 Holter (24‐hour) recordings were collected from 3 tertiary hospitals. Recordings were independently analyzed by cardiologists for the AI‐based platform and by electrophysiologists as part of clinical practice for the conventional platform. For each Holter, diagnostic performance was evaluated and compared through the analysis of the presence or absence of 5 predefined cardiac abnormalities: pauses, ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation/flutter/tachycardia, high‐grade atrioventricular block, and high burden of premature ventricular complex (>10%). Analysis duration was monitored. The deep neural network–based platform was noninferior to the conventional one in its ability to detect a major rhythm abnormality. There were no statistically significant differences between AI‐based and classical platforms regarding the sensitivity and specificity to detect the predefined abnormalities except for atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia (atrial fibrillation, 0.98 versus 0.91 and 0.98 versus 1.00; pause, 0.95 versus 1.00 and 1.00 versus 1. 00; premature ventricular contractions, 0.96 versus 0.87 and 1.00 versus 1.00; ventricular tachycardia, 0.97 versus 0.68 and 0.99 versus 1.00; atrioventricular block, 0.93 versus 0.57 and 0.99 versus 1.00). The AI‐based analysis was >25% faster than the conventional one (4.4 versus 6.0 minutes; P <0.001). Conclusions These preliminary findings suggest that an AI‐based strategy for the analysis of Holter recordings is faster and at least as accurate as a conventional analysis by electrophysiologists.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) frequently coexist. However, the extent to which CKD increases the risk of thromboembolism in patients with nonvalvular AF and the benefits ...of anticoagulation in this group remain unclear. We addressed the role of CKD in the prediction of thromboembolic events and the impact of anticoagulation using a meta-analysis method. Data sources included MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane (from inception to January 2014). Three independent reviewers selected studies. Descriptive and quantitative information was extracted from each selected study and a random-effects meta-analysis was performed. After screening 962 search results, 19 studies were considered eligible. Among patients with AF, the presence of CKD resulted in an increased risk of thromboembolism (hazard ratio HR 1.46, 95% confidence interval CI 1.20 to 1.76, p = 0.0001), particularly in case of end-stage CKD (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.56 to 2.14, p <0.00001). Warfarin decreased the incidence of thromboembolic events in patients with non–end-stage CKD (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.86, p <0.00001). Recent data on novel oral anticoagulants suggested a higher efficacy of these agents compared with warfarin (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.96, p = 0.02) and aspirin (HR 0.32, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.55, p <0.0001) in treating non–end-stage CKD. In conclusion, the presence of CKD in patients with AF is associated with an almost 50% increased thromboembolic risk, which can be effectively decreased with appropriate antithrombotic therapy. Further prospective studies are needed to better evaluate the interest of anticoagulation in patients with severe CKD.
Abstract Background Patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may be at lower risk for ventricular arrhythmias compared with those with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). In addition, DCM ...has been identified as a predictor of positive response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of an additional implantable cardioverter-defibrillator over CRT, according to underlying heart disease, in a large study group of primary prevention patients with heart failure. Methods This was an observational, multicenter, European cohort study of 5,307 consecutive patients with DCM or ICM, no history of sustained ventricular arrhythmias, who underwent CRT implantation with (n = 4,037) or without (n = 1,270) a defibrillator. Propensity-score and cause-of-death analyses were used to compare outcomes. Results After a mean follow-up period of 41.4 ± 29.0 months, patients with ICM had better survival when receiving CRT with a defibrillator compared with those who received CRT without a defibrillator (hazard ratio for mortality adjusted on propensity score and all mortality predictors: 0.76; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.62 to 0.92; p = 0.005), whereas in patients with DCM, no such difference was observed (hazard ratio: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.73 to 1.16; p = 0.49). Compared with recipients of defibrillators, the excess mortality in patients who did not receive defibrillators was related to sudden cardiac death in 8.0% among those with ICM but in only 0.4% of those with DCM. Conclusions Among patients with heart failure with indications for CRT, those with DCM may not benefit from additional primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy, as opposed to those with ICM.
Mortality of ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) decreased drastically, mainly through reduction in inhospital mortality. Prehospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) became one of the most ...feared complications. We assessed the incidence, outcome, and prognosis' predictors of prehospital SCA occurring after emergency medical services (EMS) arrival.
Data were taken between 2006 and 2014 from the e-MUST study (Evaluation en Médecine d'Urgence des Strategies Thérapeutiques des infarctus du myocarde) that enrolls all STEMI managed by EMS in the Greater Paris Area, including those dead before hospital admission. Among 13 253 STEMI patients analyzed, 749 (5.6%) presented EMS-witnessed prehospital SCA. Younger age, absence of cardiovascular risk factors, symptoms of heart failure, extensive STEMI, and short pain onset-to-call and call-to-EMS arrival delays were independently associated with increased SCA risk. Mortality rate at hospital discharge was 4.0% in the nonSCA group versus 37.7% in the SCA group ( P<0.001); 26.8% of deaths occurred before hospital admission. Factors associated with increased mortality after SCA were age, heart failure, and extensive STEMI, while male sex and cardiovascular risk factors were associated with decreased mortality. Among patients admitted alive, PCI was the most important mortality-reduction predictor (odds ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.25-0.63; P<0.0001).
More than 1 of 20 STEMI presents prehospital SCA after EMS arrival. SCA occurrence is associated with a 10-fold higher mortality at hospital discharge compared with STEMI without SCA. PCI is the strongest survival predictor, leading to a twice-lower mortality. This highlights the persistently dramatic impact of SCA on STEMI and the major importance of PCI in this setting.
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