Abstract 273: Epinephrine Dose Distribution And Impact On Survival After Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation In Children

Abstract

Background: Although AHA guidelines recommend a fixed epinephrine (epi) dosing frequency during cardiac arrest, it is unknown if a fixed dosing practice is both utilized and effective for EPCR events in children. We hypothesized that 1) epi dosing would not be uniformly distributed during ECPR events and 2) a strategy of limiting epi doses during ECPR would be associated with better survival to hospital discharge (SHD). Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of ECPR after in-hospital cardiac arrest in children (< 18 years) between 2012 - 2019. Patient and arrest event details as well as epi dose and time-stamps were recorded. In patients with a CPR duration of ≥ 30 minutes, dosing strategies were categorized as either “frequent epi” (FE; average epi dosing interval of ≤ 5 mins/dose during the first 30 mins of CPR) or “limited epi” (LE; average dosing interval of ≤ 5 mins/dose for the first 10 mins followed by > 5 mins/dose through 30 mins). The primary outcome was SHD. Results: A total of 191 patients from 5 centers were included; overall SHD was 43% (82/191). Epi doses were not evenly distributed, with 66% (919/1385) of doses being given during the first half of CPR. Mean number of epi doses was similar between survivors and non-survivors in the first 10 mins (2.7 doses). After 10 mins, survivors received fewer doses than non-survivors per each 10 min interval (Figure). In the subset of patients that received ≥ 30 mins of CPR (n=147) the LE group had higher SHD [48% (14/52) vs. 27% (46/95), p=0.01] and improved odds of SHD after adjusting for age, sex, illness category, time of day, first pulseless rhythm and CPR duration [OR (95% CI) 4.2 (1.5-11.7); p =0.008]. Conclusion: In contrast to AHA guidelines, epi dosing was not evenly distributed during events in this multicenter study of pediatric in-hospital ECPR. For children with CPR duration ≥ 30 minutes a strategy of limiting epi doses was associated with improved SHD.