Abstract 10911: Amplitude Spectral Area to Guide Shock and Epinephrine Delivery in a Swine Model of Ventricular Fibrillation and Closed-Chest Resuscitation

Abstract

Introduction: VF accounts for ~30% of all sudden cardiac arrest episodes. VF signal analysis in the frequency domain - calculating the amplitude spectral area (AMSA) - can inform on the probability that an electrical shock could terminate VF followed by return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). BLS guidelines require delivery of shocks every 2 min and epinephrine every 4 min. Yet, shocks often do not terminate VF and may injure the myocardium. We have previously reported that guiding the timing of shock delivery based on AMSA reduces myocardial injury and improves outcome. Epinephrine is given to increase the coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) and therefore myocardial blood flow but has detrimental effects on post-resuscitation myocardial function and possibly on neurological outcome. Hypothesis: Monitoring AMSA during CPR could be used not only to guide shock delivery but also to avoid administering epinephrine when AMSA predicts a high probability of shock success, reserving epinephrine when AMSA predicts a low probability of shock success and additional CPP increase might be helpful. Methods: In a swine model of electrically induced VF and mechanical chest compressions, two resuscitation protocols were compared in 8 pigs each: (1) A guidelines-driven (GD), delivering shocks and epinephrine guided by the current BLS protocol and (2) An AMSA-driven, delivering shocks and epinephrine guided by AMSA (ADSE). VF was untreated for 10 min and pigs that achieved ROSC were monitored for 240 min. Results: Compared to GD, ADSE was associated with a shorter time to ROSC (400±80 vs 569±16 sec, p=0.034) and higher survival rate at 240 minutes with borderline statistical significance (7/8 vs 3/8, p=0.059). ADSE required fewer shocks (3±2 vs 5±2, p=0.026) and received fewer doses of epinephrine (median [interquartile range], 1[1-1] vs 2[1.3-3], p=0.038). Conclusions: Resuscitation with the ADSE protocol was superior to the GD protocol resulting in a shorter time to ROSC with improved survival requiring fewer shocks and fewer epinephrine doses. The ADSE protocol represents a more tailored approach to resuscitation enabling delivery of resuscitation interventions with higher precision and consequently minimizing their associated adverse effects.