A Randomized Pilot Clinical Trial of Early Coronary Angiography Versus No Early Coronary Angiography for Post-Cardiac Arrest Patients Without ST-Segment Elevation: The PEARL Study

Link to article at PubMed

Circulation. 2020 Sep 28. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.049569. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background: The benefit of emergent coronary angiography after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is uncertain for patients without ST-segment elevation (STE). The aim of this randomized trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of early coronary angiography and to determine the prevalence of acute coronary occlusion in resuscitated OHCA patients without STE. Methods: Adult (>18 years) comatose survivors without STE after resuscitation from OHCA were prospectively randomized in a 1:1 fashion under exception to informed consent regulations to early coronary angiography versus no early coronary angiography in this multi-center study. Early angiography was defined as ≤ 120 minutes from arrival at the percutaneous coronary intervention capable facility. The primary endpoint was a composite of efficacy and safety measures, including efficacy parameters of survival to discharge, favorable neurological status at discharge (Cerebral Performance Category ≤ 2), echocardiographic measures of left ventricular ejection fraction >50% and a normal regional wall motion score of 16 within 24 hours of admission. Adverse events included re-arrest, pulmonary edema on chest x-ray, acute renal dysfunction, bleeding requiring transfusion or intervention, hypotension (systolic arterial pressure ≤90 mmHg), and pneumonia. Secondary endpoints included the incidence of culprit vessels with acute occlusion. Results: The study was prematurely terminated before enrolling the target number of patients. A total of 99 patients were enrolled from 2015-2018, including 75 with initially shockable rhythms. Forty-nine patients were randomized to early coronary angiography. The primary endpoint of efficacy and safety was not different between the two groups (55.1% vs 46.0%; p=0.64). Early coronary angiography was not associated with any significant increase in survival (55.1% vs 48.0%; p=0.55 or adverse events (26.5% vs 26.0%; p=1.00). Early coronary angiography revealed a culprit vessel in 47%, with a total of 14% of patients undergoing early coronary angiography having an acutely occluded culprit coronary artery. Conclusions: This underpowered study, when considered together with previous clinical trials, does not support early coronary angiography for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest without ST elevation. Whether early detection of occluded potential culprit arteries leads to interventions that improve outcomes requires additional study. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02387398.

PMID:32985249 | DOI:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.049569

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