Acute renal failure after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Objective: To assess the frequency and independent predictors of severe acute renal failure in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. Design: A cohort study with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. Setting: Emergency department of a tertiary care 2200-bed university hospital. Patients and participants: Consecutive adult (>18 years) patients admitted from 1 July 1991 to 31 October 1997 after witnessed ventricular fibrillation out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation. Measurements and results: Acute renal failure was defined as a 25% decrease of creatinine clearance within 24 h after admission. Out of 187 eligible patients (median age 57 years, 146 male), acute renal failure occurred in 22 patients (12%); in 4 patients (18%) renal replacement therapy was performed. Congestive heart failure (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.6-21.7; p = 0.007), history of hypertension (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.3-14 7; p = 0.02) and total dose of epinephrine administered (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2; p = 0.009) were independent predictors of acute renal failure. Duration of cardiac arrest, pre-existing impaired renal function and blood pressure at admission were not independently associated with renal outcome. Conclusions. Severe progressive acute renal failure after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is rare. Pre-existing haemodynamics seem to be more important for the occurrence of acute renal failure than actual hypoperfusion during resuscitation.