R.E.B.E.L.EM - April 25, 2016 - By Salim Rezaie
"Background: Many Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) are attributable to ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Both are said to be treatable presentations of OHCA, due to their responsiveness to defibrillation. VF and VT can persist or recur after defibrillation with an inverse relationship between the duration of OHCA, the recurrences of arrhythmias, and ultimately resuscitation outcomes.
Amiodarone and lidocaine are both recommended by the advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) guidelines to help promote successful defibrillation in refractory ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia and to prevent recurrences. In previous randomized controlled trials patients receiving amiodarone vs placebo or lidocaine in OHCA were more likely to have return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and to survive to hospital admission. However the effects of amiodarone on survival to hospital discharge or neurologic outcome still remain uncertain. Should we be using anti-dysrhythmic drugs in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?...
Author Conclusion:
“Overall, neither amiodarone nor lidocaine resulted in a significantly higher rate of survival or favorable neurologic outcome than the rate with placebo among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to initial shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.”
Clinical Take Home Point:
Both amiodarone and lidocaine showed similar benefits with respect to short-term outcomes in OHCA due to initial shock refractory ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia compared to placebo, but this did not result in a higher rate of survival to hospital discharge or favorable neurologic outcomes."