title: Does early postresuscitation stress hyperglycemia affect 72-hour neurologic outcome? Preliminary observations in the Swine model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hyperglycemia is common in the early period following resuscitation from cardiac arrest and has been shown to be a predictor of neurologic outcome in retrospective studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate neurologic outcome and early postarrest hyperglycemia in a swine cardiac arrest model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electrically induced ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest was induced in 22 anesthetized and instrumented swine. After 7 minutes, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support were initiated. Twenty-one animals were resuscitated and plasma glucose concentration was measured at intervals for 60 minutes after resuscitation. The animals were observed for 72 hours and the neurologic score was determined at 24-hour intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten animals had a peak plasma glucose value ≥ 226 mg/dL during the initial 60 minutes after resuscitation. The neurologic scores at 72 hours in these animals (mean score = 0, mean overall cerebral performance category = 1) were the same as those in the animals with a peak plasma glucose value <226 mg/dL. The end-tidal carbon dioxide (CO(2)) values measured during CPR, times to restoration of spontaneous circulation, and epinephrine doses were not significantly different between the animals with a peak glucose concentration ≥ 226 mg/dL and those with lower values. The sample size afforded a power of 95% to detect a 50-point difference from the lowest score (0 points) of the porcine neurologic outcome scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this standard porcine model of witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, early postresuscitation stress hyperglycemia did not appear to affect neurologic outcome. During the prehospital phase of treatment and transport, treatment of hyperglycemia by emergency medical services providers may not be warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California 90509, USA. jniemann@emedharbor.edu
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Niemann
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Youngquist
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rosborough
mesh_terms: D022561:Advanced Cardiac Life Support / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000209:etiology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013552:Swine; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose