• Mathias J Holmberg, Asger Granfeldt, and Lars W Andersen.
• Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Cardiology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Resuscitation. 2023 Oct 1; 191: 109958109958.

IntroductionBicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium are commonly used during in-hospital cardiac arrest. Whether these drugs are associated with survival in cardiac arrest patients is uncertain.MethodsThis was an observational study using data from the Get With The Guidelines registry. Adult patients with an in-hospital cardiac arrest between January 2008 and December 2021 were included. An instrumental variable approach was used based on hospital preferences for bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium, respectively. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge.ResultsA total of 319,230 patients were included. The median age was 66 years, 59% patients were male, and 85% patients presented with a non-shockable rhythm. Bicarbonate was administered in 58% patients, calcium in 33% patients, and magnesium in 10% patients. When considering drug use in the previous cardiac arrest patient at a given hospital as an instrument, the absolute difference in survival to hospital discharge was estimated at -14.2% (95% CI, -19.9 to -8.6) for bicarbonate, -3.0% (95% CI, -8.6 to 2.6) for calcium, and 10.7% (95% CI, -0.8 to 22.2) for magnesium as compared to no drug. When considering the proportion of drug use within the past year at a given hospital as an instrument, the confidence intervals were very wide, making the results difficult to interpret.ConclusionsIn this analysis, the results for bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium were inconclusive due to wide confidence intervals and inconsistencies in estimates across instrumental variables. Randomized trials are needed to investigate the effect of these drugs on patient outcomes.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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