Estimation of cerebral blood flow during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in humans

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cardiac output (CO) were measured during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients who were unsuccessfully resuscitated by use of C14-iodoantipyrine injected into the left ventricle. CO varied between 1.3 and 2.2 l/min with mean 1.8 +/- 0.6 l/min (+/- SD) (28 ml/kg/min). The cortical CBF was found between 14 and 211 ml 100 g-1.min-1 with mean 42 ml 100 g-1.min-1 and mean white matter CBF equal to 27 ml 100 g-1.min-1. It is suggested that the external cardiac massage in humans may be of poor efficacy in terms of brain revival. Cortical CBF after long-lasting cardiopulmonary resuscitation showed signs of maldistribution suggestive of a patchy and incomplete perfusion.