Management of comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Europe: current treatment practice and adherence to guidelines. A joint survey by the Association for Acute CardioVascular Care (ACVC) of the ESC, the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM), and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM)

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Pablo Jorge-Perez
  • Nikolaos Nikolaou
  • Katia Donadello
  • Abdo Khoury
  • Wilhelm Behringer
  • Hassager, Christian
  • Bernd Boettiger
  • Alessandro Sionis
  • Jerry Nolan
  • Alain Combes
  • Tom Quinn
  • Susanna Price
  • Johannes Grand

Aims International guidelines give recommendations for the management of comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. We aimed to investigate adherence to guidelines and disparities in the treatment of OHCA in hospitals in Europe. Methods and results A web-based, multi-institutional, multinational survey in Europe was conducted using an electronic platform with a predefined questionnaire developed by experts in post-resuscitation care. The survey was disseminated to all members of the societies via email, social media, websites, and newsletters in June 2021. Of 252 answers received, 237 responses from different units were included and 166 (70%) were from cardiac arrest centres. First-line vasopressor used was noradrenaline in 195 (83%) and the first-line inotrope was dobutamine in 148 (64%) of the responses. Echocardiography is available 24/7 in 204 (87%) institutions. Targeted temperature management was used in 160 (75%) institutions for adult comatose survivors of OHCA with an initial shockable rhythm. Invasive or external cooling methods with feedback were used in 72 cardiac arrest centres (44%) and 17 (24%) non-cardiac arrest centres (P < 0.0003). A target temperature between 32 and 34°C was preferred by 46 centres (21%); a target between 34 and 36°C by 103 centres (52%); and <37.5°C by 35 (16%). Multimodal neuroprognostication was poorly implemented and a follow-up at 3 months after discharge was done in 71 (30%) institutions. Conclusion Post-resuscitation care is not well established and varies among centres in European hospitals. Cardiac arrest centres have a higher coherence with guidelines compared with respondents from non-cardiac arrest centres. The overall inconsistency in approaches and deviation from recommendations could be a focus for improvement.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care
Volume12
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)96-105
Number of pages10
ISSN2048-8726
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved.

    Research areas

  • Cardiac arrest, Intensive care, Post-resuscitation care, Resuscitation, Temperature control

ID: 366827964