Study on the priority of coronary arteriography or therapeutic hypothermia after return of spontaneous circulation in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: results from the SOS-KANTO 2012 study

Many emergency physicians struggle with the clinical question of whether to perform therapeutic hypothermia (TH) or coronary angiography (CAG) first after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). We analyzed the results of the SOS-KANTO 2012 study, which is a prospective, multicenter (67 emergency hospitals), observational study about OHCA conducted between January 2012 and March 2013 (n = 16,452). We compared two groups: the group in which TH was first performed (TH group), and the group in which CAG was performed first (CAG group) within 24 h after arrival. Two hundred and twenty-one patients were treated TH and CAG (TH group, 76 patients; CAG group, 145 patients). In addition, we selected patients who underwent coronary treatment. 164 patients underwent coronary treatment after CAG (TH group, 52 patients; CAG group, 112 patients). In patients in whom TH and CAG and coronary artery treatment were done, 42 patients (55.3 %) in the TH group and 86 patients (59.3 %) in the CAG group survived at 90 days. The cerebral performance category (CPC) 1 and 2 were 26.3 % (20 patients) in TH group, and 31.0 % (45 patients) in CAG group. In patients in whom TH and CAG with coronary artery treatment were performed, 29 patients (55.8 %) in the TH group and 64 patients (57.1 %) in the CAG group survived at 90 days. The rates of CPC 1 and 2 were 26.9 % (14 patients) in TH group, and 23.2 % (26 patients) in CAG group. There was no significant difference in 90-day survival between the two groups although it tended to be better in the CAG group than in the TH group. Whether TH or CAG was performed first did not affect the 90-day survival and 30-day neurological situation among patients with ROSC after OHCA.