Feasibility of focused cardiac ultrasound during cardiac arrest in the emergency department

BACKGROUND: Focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) can aid in evaluation and management of patients with cardiac arrest, but image quality in this population has been questioned. Our goal was to determine how often adequate imaging can be obtained in cardiac arrest patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the utility of FOCUS in cardiac arrest. All patients who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) in cardiac arrest or who had cardiac arrest while in the ED over 6 months were prospectively identified. FOCUS images were obtained as part of routine clinical care. Patients with images obtained were paired with age- and gender-matched controls who underwent FOCUS for another indication during the study period. Image quality was scored by two blinded reviewers using a 0–4 scale, with a score of ≥ 2 considered adequate. RESULTS: There were 137 consecutive cardiac arrests, 121 out-of-hospital and 16 in-hospital, during the study period. FOCUS images were recorded in 126 (92%), who were included in the analysis. The average age was 58 years, and 45% were female. Ninety-seven studies (77%) were obtained during advanced cardiac life support while 29 (23%) were obtained after return of spontaneous circulation. The controls were appropriately matched. Of the cardiac arrest studies, 106 (84%) were rated adequate, compared to 116 (92%) in controls (p = 0.08). When compared to control FOCUS studies, the scores given to studies of cardiac arrest patients were lower (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: FOCUS can reliably be used during cardiac arrest to obtain images adequate to answer clinical questions and guide therapies.