title: Failure of nimodipine to improve neurologic outcome after eighteen minutes of cardiac arrest in the cat.
abstract: The calcium entry blocker nimodipine was administered to cats following resuscitation from 18 min of cardiac arrest to evaluate its effect on neurologic and neuropathologic outcome in a clinically relevant model of complete cerebral ischemia. Cardiac arrest (ventricular fibrillation) was maintained for 18 min and resuscitation was performed by a standardized protocol in 40 cats. Beginning at 5 min post-resuscitation, nimodipine, 10 micrograms/kg over 2 min followed by 1 microgram/kg per min for 10 h, or the same volume of placebo was administered in a randomized, blinded fashion. Neurologic deficits were scored at 2, 4, and 7 days post-resuscitation by observers blinded to the treatment group. Thirty cats were evaluated neurologically at 7 days post-resuscitation and were entered into data analysis (n = 15 per group). Neither neurologic deficit scores nor neuropathologic scores were significantly different between groups. The authors conclude that nimodipine administration in the manner and doses stated does not improve neurologic outcome in cats following resuscitation from cardiac arrest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Scheller
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zornow
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Grafe
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fleischer
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D009553:Nimodipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012151:Resuscitation; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009553:Nimodipine