Early postresuscitation hypotension is associated with increased mortality following pediatric cardiac arrest

Alexis A Topjian1, Benjamin French, Robert M Sutton

  • 11Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. 2Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. 3Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, CS Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 4Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.

Critical Care Medicine
|February 25, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Systolic hypotension after pediatric cardiac arrest is common, affecting 56% of survivors. This early post-resuscitation hypotension significantly increases the risk of in-hospital mortality and poor neurologic outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric critical care medicine
  • Cardiovascular physiology
  • Emergency medicine

Background:

  • Pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) is a critical event with significant mortality.
  • Understanding post-resuscitation complications is vital for improving outcomes.
  • Systolic hypotension is a common finding after successful resuscitation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the association between systolic hypotension within 6 hours of pediatric CPA resuscitation and in-hospital mortality.
  • To evaluate the impact of early post-resuscitation hypotension on neurologic outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study involving 383 pediatric patients from 15 children's hospitals.
  • Defined early post-resuscitation hypotension as systolic blood pressure below the fifth percentile for age and sex within 6 hours of return of spontaneous circulation.
  • Analyzed the association between hypotension and in-hospital mortality, controlling for patient and CPA characteristics.

Main Results:

  • 56% of patients experienced early post-resuscitation hypotension.
  • 184 patients (48%) died before hospital discharge.
  • Hypotension was significantly associated with increased odds of in-hospital mortality (aOR=1.71) and unfavorable outcomes (aOR=1.83).

Conclusions:

  • Systolic hypotension in the first 6 hours post-resuscitation is prevalent in pediatric CPA survivors.
  • Early post-resuscitation hypotension is a significant predictor of increased in-hospital mortality.
  • This finding highlights the importance of vigilant hemodynamic monitoring and management in pediatric CPA resuscitation.
Abstract

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