Prevalence and Patterns of Resuscitation‐Associated Injury Detected by Head‐to‐Pelvis Computed Tomography After Successful Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation

Background Patients resuscitated from out‐of‐hospital circulatory arrest (OHCA) frequently have cardiopulmonary resuscitation injuries identifiable by computed tomography, although the prevalence, types of injury, and effects on clinical outcomes are poorly characterized. Methods and Results We assessed the prevalence of resuscitation‐associated injuries in a prospective, observational study of a head‐to‐pelvis sudden‐death computed tomography scan within 6 hours of successful OHCA resuscitation. Primary outcomes included total injuries and time‐critical injuries (such as organ laceration). Exploratory outcomes were injury associations with mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation and survival to discharge. Among 104 patients with OHCA (age 56±15 years, 30% women), 58% had bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and total cardiopulmonary resuscitation time was 15±11 minutes. The prevalence of resuscitation‐associated injury was high (81%), including 15 patients (14%) with time‐critical findings. Patients with resuscitation injury were older (58±15 versus 46±13 years; P