In patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest and displaying no ST-segment elevation on initial electrocardiogram (ECG), recent randomized trials indicated no benefits from early coronary angiography. How the results of such randomized studies apply to a real-world clinical context remains to be established.
We retrospectively analyzed a clinical database including all patients 18 yo or older admitted to our tertiary University Hospital from January 2017 to August 2020 after successful resuscitation of out-of-Hospital (OHCA) or In-Hospital (IHCA) cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac origin, and undergoing immediate coronary angiography, regardless of the initial rhythm and post-resuscitation ECG. The primary outcome of the study was survival at day 90 after cardiac arrest. Demographic data, characteristics of cardiac arrest, duration of resuscitation, laboratory values at admission, angiographic data and revascularization status were collected. Comparisons were performed according to the initial ECG (ST-segment elevation or not), and between survivors and non-survivors. Variables associated with the primary outcome were evaluated by univariate and multivariate regression analyses.
We analyzed 147 patients (130 OHCA and 17 IHCA), including 67 with STEMI and 80 without STEMI (No STEMI). Immediate revascularization was performed in 65/67 (97%) STEMI and 15/80 (19%) no STEMI. Day 90 survival was significantly higher in STEMI (48/67, 72%) than no STEMI (44/80, 55%). In the latter patients, survival was not influenced by the revascularization status. In univariate and multivariate analyses, lower age, a shockable rhythm, shorter durations of no flow and low flow, and a lower initial blood lactate were associated with survival in both STEMI and no STEMI. In contrast, metabolic abnormalities, including lower initial plasma sodium and higher potassium were significantly associated with mortality only in the subgroup of no STEMI patients.
Our results, obtained in a real-world clinical setting, indicate that an immediate coronary angiography is not associated with any survival advantage in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac etiology without ST-segment elevation on initial ECG. Furthermore, we found that some early metabolic abnormalities may be associated with mortality in this population, which should deserve further investigation.