Pnuemonia in comatose patients post cardiac arrest

75% of patients developed pneumonia!

From a presentation at AHA 2016:

Methods: We identified consecutive patients undergoing targeted temperature management following OHCA secondary to a shockable rhythm (ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation). To address survival bias we excluded patients who died within 48 hours of hospital admission. We then compared clinical outcomes between patients with and without pneumonia. The primary outcome was severe neurologic dysfunction as defined by a cerebral performance category (CPC) ≥3; secondary outcomes included duration of mechanical ventilation and length of stay in hospital and in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).

Results: Of 116 patients included (mean age 57 years, mean downtime 24 min, 22% female, 47% STEMI), 87 (75%) developed pneumonia. Patients who developed pneumonia were older; baseline patient and index event characteristics were otherwise comparable between the two cohorts. The most common pathogens isolated included Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenza, Streptococcal species and Klebsiella species. Piperacillin/tazobactam and cephalosporins were used to treat the majority of patients. The incidence of the primary outcome (28%) was comparable in patients with versus without pneumonia. However, compared to patients without pneumonia, OHCA patients with pneumonia required longer periods of mechanical ventilation and longer lengths of stay in hospital and in the CICU.