Adherence to post-cardiac arrest care guidelines and impact on survival and neurological outcome

Background: Post-cardiac arrest (CA) care guidelines (GLs) have been introduced in 2010 and periodically updated every 5 years since then (in 2015 and 2021). However, the impact of these GLs on patients’ outcome remains underexplored. The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate and compare the impact of implementation of three consecutive post-CA GLs over 14 years, on patients’ survival and neurological recovery. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult patients resuscitated from CA and admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between 2011 and 2024. Patients were stratified into three cohorts based on the GL in use (GL2010, GL2015, and GL2024). Adherence to GL recommendations was assessed across seven macro-areas: coronary angiography, haemodynamic, ventilation, temperature control, general ICU management, multimodal neuroprognostication, and seizure control. Predictors of survival and favourable neurological outcome at ICU discharge were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression with LASSO selection. Outcome up to 6 months was also evaluated. Results: A total of 275 patients were included over the 14-year period. Survival to ICU discharge increased from 39.5% in cohort 1 to 53.9% in cohort 3, together with favourable neurological outcome that improved from 30.9 to 42.7%. Adherence to GL recommendations significantly improved across most domains, particularly in haemodynamic management (from 32.0% in cohort 1 to 77.3% in cohort 3), temperature control (from 60.6 to 94.4%), and general ICU management (from 56.3 to 77.6%). Among all interventions, adherence to haemodynamic recommendations was independently associated with improved survival (OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.01–4.86). Conclusions: Following the implementation of updated post-CA care GLs, adherence to recommendations improved, particularly in haemodynamic management. Although no statistically significant improvements in survival or neurological outcomes were observed, these findings highlight the potential value of sustained GL-based care.