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SummaryBackgroundPerforming cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and postresuscitation care in the intensive care unit (ICU) are standardized procedures; however, there is evidence suggesting sex-dependent differences in clinical management and outcome variables after cardiac arrest (CA).MethodsA prospective analysis of patients who were hospitalized at a medical ICU after CPR between December 2018 and March 2020 was conducted. Exclusion criteria were age 2-tests, for survival analysis both univariate and multivariable Cox regression were fitted.ResultsA total of 106 patients were included and the majority were male (71.7%). No statistically significant difference regarding 6‑month mortality between sexes could be shown (hazard risk, HR 0.68, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.35–1.34;p = 0.27). Neurological outcome was also similar between both groups (CPC 1 88% in both sexes after 6 months;p = 1.000). There were no statistically significant differences regarding general characteristics, pre-existing diseases, as well as the majority of clinical and laboratory parameters or measures performed on the ICU.ConclusionIn a single center CPR database no statistically significant sex-specific differences regarding post-resuscitation care, survival and neurological outcome after 6 months were observed.

A European round robin test according to ISO 5725-2 was conceptually prepared, realised, and evaluated. The aim was to determine the inter-laboratory variability of the overall process for the ecotoxicological characterization of construction products in eluates and bioassays. To this end, two construction products BAM-G1 (granulate) and HSR-2 (roof sealing sheet), both made of EPDM polymers (rubber), were selected. The granular construction product was eluted in a one stage batch test, the planar product in the Dynamic Surface Leaching test (DSLT). A total of 17 laboratories from 5 countries participated in the round robin test: Germany (12), Austria (2), Belgium (1), Czech Republic (1) and France (1). A test battery of four standardised ecotoxicity tests with algae, daphnia, luminescent bacteria and zebrafish eggs was used. As toxicity measures, EC50 and LID values were calculated. All tests, except the fish egg test, were basically able to demonstrate toxic effects and the level of toxicity. The reproducibility of test results depended on the test specimens and the test organisms. Generally, the variability of the EC50 or LID values increased with the overall level of toxicity. For the very toxic BAM-G1 eluate a relative high variability of CV = 73%-110% was observed for EC50 in all biotests, while for the less toxic HSR-2 eluate the reproducibility of EC50 varied with sensitivity: it was very good (CV = 9.3%) for the daphnia test with the lowest sensitivity, followed by the algae test (CV = 36.4%). The luminescent bacteria test, being the most sensitive bioassay for HSR-2 Eluate, showed the highest variability (CV = 74.8%). When considering the complex overall process the reproducibility of bioassays with eluates from construction products was acceptable.