Early Bronchoscopy Improves Extubation Rates after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) frequently receive a bronchoscopy after being admitted to the ICU. We investigated the optimal timing and the outcome in these patients.

All patients who suffered from OHCA and were treated in our ICU from January 2013 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The data were collected from the patients' medical files, and included duration of mechanical ventilation, antibiotics, microbiological test results and neurological outcome. The outcome was the effect of early bronchoscopy (≤48 h after administration) on the rate of intubated patients on day five and day seven.

From January 2013 to December 2018, 190 patients were admitted with OHCA. Bronchoscopy was performed in 111 patients out of the 164 patients who survived the first day. Late bronchoscopy >48 h was associated with higher rates of intubation on day five (OR 4.94; 95% CI 1.2-36.72, 86.7% vs. 55.0%, p = 0.036) and day seven (OR 4.96; 95% CI 1.38-24.69; 80.0% vs. 43.3%, p = 0.019).

This study shows that patients who suffered from OHCA might have a better outcome if they receive a bronchoscopy early after hospital admission. Our data suggests an association of early bronchoscopy with a shorter intubation period.