Abstract 29: Comparison of Amiodarone versus Lidocaine for Treatment of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

Introduction: Over 200,000 patients are treated annually in the United States for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). Patients with an initial rhythm of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pVT) have a survival rate of less than 50%. The current American Heart Association (AHA) Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support guidelines suggest amiodarone or lidocaine as first-line agents for shock-refractory VF/pVT based on randomized clinical trials in adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Based on these results, we hypothesized that amiodarone and lidocaine have equivalent efficacy in treating hospitalized patients with VF/pVT. Methods: This is a retrospective risk-adjusted cohort study using the AHA Get with the Guidelines-Resuscitation® (GWTG-R) registry. The study included adult patients between January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2014 with IHCA due to VF/pVT that received either amiodarone or lidocaine. The primary outcome was return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Secondary outcomes were 24-hour survival, survival to hospital discharge, and survival with favorable neurologic outcome based on Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 1 or 2. Results: A total of 14,630 events were included in the analysis. Among patients who met inclusion criteria, 68.7% (n=10,058) were treated with amiodarone and 31.3% (n=4,572) were treated with lidocaine. Results from multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that, controlling for 19 covariates, ROSC rates were not statistically different with lidocaine treatment vs. amiodarone (AOR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.94, 1.11). However, lidocaine treatment was associated with higher odds of a) 24-hour survival, AOR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.06, 1.23; b) survival to discharge, AOR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.06, 1.24; and c) favorable neurologic outcome at hospital discharge, AOR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.11, 1.31. Conclusion: In adult IHCA patients with VF/pVT, treatment with lidocaine compared to amiodarone was not associated with higher ROSC rates, but was associated with higher rates of survival and favorable neurological outcomes. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal antiarrhythmic therapy for VF/pVT in IHCA.