Co-administration of vasopressin and epinephrine versus epinephrine alone in the treatment of patients with cardiac arrest: a meta-analysis / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective The combination of vasopressin and epinephrine has long been thought to be more effective then epinephrine alone in cardiopulrnonary resuscitation (CPR), evidence is not enough to make such a clinical recommendation. This meta-analysis compared the efficacy of vasopressin and epinephrine used together versus epinephrine alone in cardiac arrest (ca) in order to verify the truth. Method MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for the data of randomized trials in comparing the results of co-administration of vasopressin and epinephrine with epinephrine alone in adults with cardiac arrest. The primary outcome was the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Results Six randomized trials in 485 articles were analyzed. We failed to get the results supporting the effectiveness of this combination therapy, except for the rate of 24 hours survival (OR 2.99,95%CI1.43 ~ 6.28). No evidence supported that vasopressin combined with epinephrine was better than epinephrine alone in ROSC. Conclusions This systematic review indicates the combination of vasopressin and epinephrine is better for the rate of 24 hpurs survival in only 122 patients. Further investigation is needed to support the use of combination therapy for cardiac arrest.