Abstract
The most frequent infectious complication in patients admitted after cardiac arrest (CA) is pneumonia, both early (EP) and late (LP). Currently, its diagnosis is a challenge due to multiple confounding factors: systemic inflammatory response, active temperature control, secondary injuries from resuscitation maneuvers, among others. The objective of this study is to determine whether the kinetics of the usual biomarkers in Intensive Care Units (C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT)) can be useful for its diagnosis.
A retrospective observational study of the prospective registry of patients admitted for recovered CA in the Acute Cardiovascular Care Unit of a tertiary hospital between September 2006 and April 2022 was conducted. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 2023 version) criteria for the diagnosis of pneumonia were applied.
A total of 575 patients were included. The baseline characteristics and details of the CA are presented in the table 1. The overall incidence of pneumonia was 41% (235 patients), of which 161 (28%) were EP (≤ 72 hours). CRP levels progressively increased from admission in both patients with and without a diagnosis of pneumonia. In the case of EP, the increase is significantly greater at 48, 72, and 96 hours, while for LP, the difference is significantly greater at 72 and 96 hours. Regarding PCT, when comparing patients with EP to those who did not develop pneumonia, the maximum level occurs at 48 hours, with no significant differences. In patients with LP, there is a second maximum level at 96 hours, with no significant differences.
Author notes
Funding Acknowledgements: None.
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