Podcast 741: Calcium for Cardiac Arrest

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Study of nearly 400 patients evaluating giving calcium during cardiac arrest with the endpoint as return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC)
• Compared giving 1 amp calcium chloride with each round of epinephrine for the first two rounds of epinephrine versus saline placebo
• ROSC occurred in 19% of patients in the calcium groups versus 27% in saline placebo group
• No magic drugs in cardiac arrest, good CPR and early defibrillation are still the most important factors for ROSC in cardiac arrest 

References

Vallentin MF, Granfeldt A, Meilandt C, et al. Effect of Intravenous or Intraosseous Calcium vs Saline on Return of Spontaneous Circulation in Adults With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2021;326(22):2268-2276. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.20929

Summarized by John Spartz, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD

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