Adult post-cardiac arrest interventions: An overview of randomized clinical trials

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Clinical Trials Research

Background:

• Post-cardiac arrest care is a critical area in emergency medicine.
• Numerous clinical trials investigate interventions to improve outcomes after cardiac arrest.
• Understanding the landscape of these trials is essential for advancing patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of published and registered clinical trials focused on post-cardiac arrest interventions.
• To identify trends in trial design, sample size, and patient populations.
• To inform future research directions in the field of post-cardiac arrest care.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of PubMed and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.
• Inclusion criteria focused on randomized clinical trials in adults addressing post-cardiac arrest interventions.
• Data extraction included publication status, sample size, and arrest location (in-hospital vs. out-of-hospital).

Main Results:

• Identified 65 published randomized clinical trials and 48 registered trials.
• Most trials (79% published, 71% registered) focused on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
• Published trials had a median sample size of 90 participants; registered trials had a median target of 100 participants, with generally low sample sizes overall.

Conclusions:

• The current body of research on post-cardiac arrest interventions is characterized by a predominance of out-of-hospital arrest studies.
• The generally small sample sizes in existing trials highlight a need for larger, potentially multi-center studies.
• This overview serves as a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians, guiding the development of future clinical trials in post-cardiac arrest care.