Severe acidemia on arrival not predictive of neurologic outcomes in post-cardiac arrest patients

Purpose This study aimed to determine whether severe acidemia (pH < 7.2) on arrival at the emergency department (ED) is a predictive factor for neurologic outcomes of post-cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). Materials and methods Data in the National Disaster Medical Center, a tertiary care hospital, were used to perform a case-control study on post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM from January 2013 to April 2015. The case group comprised patients with good neurologic outcomes (cerebral performance categories 1 and 2), whereas the control group comprised patients with poor neurologic outcomes (cerebral performance categories 3-5). Exposure was defined as arterial pH less than 7.2 on arrival at the ED. Results We identified 32 patients matching our criteria, of which 13 had good outcomes and 19 poor outcomes. Arterial pH on arrival was not significantly associated with neurologic outcomes (P =.47; odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.09-2.61). In 24 patients with cardiogenic causes of cardiac arrest, pH on arrival was not significantly associated with neurologic outcomes (P =.68; odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.09-2.73) after matched-pair analysis by age, sex, and presence of light reflex. Conclusion Severe acidemia on arrival at the ED is not a significant predictive factor for neurologic outcomes in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM, particularly in patients with cardiogenic causes of cardiac arrest. These results suggest that treatment should not be withheld in post-cardiac arrest patients with severe acidemia.