Esmolol in the management of pre-hospital refractory ventricular fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2020

Dennis Miraglia, and Lourdes A Miguel, and Wilfredo Alonso
Department of Internal Medicine, Good Samaritan Hospital, Aguadilla, PR, United States. Electronic address: dennismiraglia@hotmail.com.

Esmolol has been proposed as a viable adjunctive therapy for pre-hospital refractory ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pVT). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of esmolol on pre-hospital refractory VF/pVT, compared with standard of care. MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched for eligible studies. Two investigators independently extracted relevant data and assessed the methodological quality of each included study using the ROBINS-I tool. The quality of evidence for summary estimates was assessed according to GRADE guidelines. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each outcome of interest were calculated. The search yielded 3253 unique records, of which two studies were found to be in accordance with the research purpose, totaling 66 patients, of whom 33.3% (n = 22) received esmolol. Additional evidence was provided in the paper but was not relevant to the analysis and was therefore not included. Esmolol was likely associated with an increased rate of survival to discharge (RR 2.82, 95% CI 1.01-7.93, p = 0.05) (GRADE: Very low) and survival with favorable neurological outcome (RR 3.44, 95% CI 1.11-10.67, p = 0.03) (GRADE: Very low). Similar results were found for return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (RR 2.63, 95% CI 1.37-5.07, p = 0.004) (GRADE: Very low) and survival to intensive care unit (ICU)/hospital admission (RR 2.63, 95% CI 1.37-5.07, p = 0.004) (GRADE: Very low). The effectiveness of esmolol for refractory VF/pVT remains unclear. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) indicates that the evidence is inconclusive and that further trials are required in order to reach a conclusion. Therefore, it is imperative to continue to accumulate evidence in order to obtain a higher level of scientific evidence.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011412 Propanolamines AMINO ALCOHOLS containing the propanolamine (NH2CH2CHOHCH2) group and its derivatives. Aminopropanols
D004632 Emergency Medical Services Services specifically designed, staffed, and equipped for the emergency care of patients. Emergency Care,Emergency Health Services,Emergicenters,Prehospital Emergency Care,Emergency Care, Prehospital,Emergency Services, Medical,Medical Services, Emergency,Services, Emergency Medical,Emergency Health Service,Emergency Medical Service,Emergency Service, Medical,Emergicenter,Health Service, Emergency,Health Services, Emergency,Medical Emergency Service,Medical Emergency Services,Medical Service, Emergency,Service, Emergency Health,Service, Emergency Medical,Service, Medical Emergency,Services, Emergency Health,Services, Medical Emergency
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014693 Ventricular Fibrillation A potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia that is characterized by uncoordinated extremely rapid firing of electrical impulses (400-600/min) in HEART VENTRICLES. Such asynchronous ventricular quivering or fibrillation prevents any effective cardiac output and results in unconsciousness (SYNCOPE). It is one of the major electrocardiographic patterns seen with CARDIAC ARREST. Fibrillation, Ventricular,Fibrillations, Ventricular,Ventricular Fibrillations
D016896 Treatment Outcome Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series. Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes
D058671 Adrenergic beta-1 Receptor Antagonists Drugs that bind to and block the activation of ADRENERGIC BETA-1 RECEPTORS. Adrenergic beta-1 Antagonists,Adrenergic beta-1 Receptor Blockers,Adrenergic beta1-Antagonists,beta-1 Adrenergic Blocking Agents,beta1-Adrenergic Antagonists,Adrenergic beta 1 Antagonists,Adrenergic beta 1 Receptor Antagonists,Adrenergic beta 1 Receptor Blockers,Adrenergic beta1 Antagonists,Antagonists, Adrenergic beta-1,Antagonists, beta1-Adrenergic,beta 1 Adrenergic Blocking Agents,beta-1 Antagonists, Adrenergic,beta1 Adrenergic Antagonists,beta1-Antagonists, Adrenergic

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