Duration of Prehospital Resuscitation Efforts After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Background: During out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, it is unclear how long prehospital resuscitation efforts should be continued to maximize lives saved.

Methods And Results: Between 2005 and 2012, we enrolled 282 183 adult patients with bystander-witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from the All-Japan Utstein Registry. Prehospital resuscitation duration was calculated as the time interval from call receipt to return of spontaneous circulation in cases achieving prehospital return of spontaneous circulation or from call receipt to hospital arrival in cases not achieving prehospital return of spontaneous circulation.

Resuscitative value of B-type natriuretic peptide in comatose survivors treated with hypothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to cardiac causes.

Background: Two randomized studies have shown a neurological benefit of therapeutic hypothermia in comatose survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, but there are no studies of the cardiac neurohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients treated with hypothermia.

Methods And Results: A prospective study was conducted of 109 comatose patients who were treated with mild hypothermia after out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest due to cardiac causes and whose BNP level was measured on arrival at the emergency room. The primary endpoint was a favorable neurological outcome at the time of hospital discharge.