Association between postresuscitation partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide and neurological outcome in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome.

Background: Partial pressure of arterial CO2 (Paco(2)) is a regulator of cerebral blood flow after brain injury. Recent guidelines for the management of cardiac arrest recommend maintaining Paco(2) at 40 to 45 mm Hg after successful resuscitation; however, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence of Paco(2) derangements during the post-cardiac arrest period and its association with outcome.

Methods And Results: We analyzed a prospectively compiled and maintained cardiac arrest registry at a single academic medical center.

Multiple organ dysfunction after return of spontaneous circulation in postcardiac arrest syndrome.

Objectives: Recent guidelines for the treatment of postcardiac arrest syndrome recommend optimization of vital organ perfusion after return of spontaneous circulation to reduce the risk of postresuscitation multiple organ injury. However, the prevalence of extracerebral multiple organ dysfunction in postcardiac arrest patients and its association with in-hospital mortality remain unclear.

Design: Single-center, prospective observational study.