Table 1. Baseline Characteristics According to Treatment Assignmenta.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Vasopressin and methylprednisolone (n = 237) | Placebo (n = 264) | |
| Patient characteristics | ||
| Age, y | 71 (13) | 70 (12) |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 148 (62) | 174 (66) |
| Female | 89 (38) | 90 (34) |
| BMIb | 26 (23-31) | 26 (23-31) |
| Medical historyc | ||
| Arterial hypertension | 148 (62) | 167 (63) |
| Coronary artery disease | 76 (32) | 92 (35) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 69 (29) | 66 (25) |
| Diabetes | 69 (29) | 78 (30) |
| Pulmonary disease | 67 (28) | 82 (31) |
| Cancer | 55 (23) | 49 (19) |
| Kidney disease | 54 (23) | 49 (19) |
| Chronic heart failure | 47 (20) | 56 (21) |
| Stroke | 46 (19) | 40 (15) |
| Venous thromboembolism | 15 (6) | 14 (5) |
| Liver disease | 8 (3) | 11 (4) |
| Dementia | 5 (2) | 3 (1) |
| Any glucocorticoids prior to hospital admission | 34 (14) | 30 (11) |
| Interventions prior to cardiac arrest | ||
| Kidney replacement therapy | 25 (11) | 20 (8) |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 20 (8) | 30 (11) |
| Vasopressor infusion | 13 (5) | 23 (9) |
| Cardiac arrest characteristics | ||
| Location | ||
| Hospital ward | 163 (69) | 168 (64) |
| Intensive care unit | 23 (10) | 18 (7) |
| Emergency department | 19 (8) | 38 (14) |
| Cardiac catherization laboratory | 12 (5) | 23 (9) |
| Operating room | 4 (2) | 3 (1) |
| Otherd | 16 (7) | 14 (5) |
| Monitored | 87 (37) | 121 (46) |
| Witnessed | 168 (71) | 202 (77) |
| Initial rhythm | ||
| Pulseless electrical activity | 134 (57) | 138 (52) |
| Asystole | 82 (35) | 95 (36) |
| Ventricular fibrillation | 17 (7) | 22 (8) |
| Ventricular tachycardia | 4 (2) | 9 (3) |
| Time from cardiac arrest recognition to | ||
| Epinephrine administration, min | 5 (3-7) | 5 (3-8) |
| Drug administration, min | 8 (6-12) | 9 (6-12) |
Abbreviation: BMI, body mass index.
a
Continuous variables are presented as means with SDs or medians with first and third quartiles and categorical variables as counts and percentages.
b
Data not available on 13 patients in the intervention group and 10 patients in the placebo group. Calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
c
Definitions are provided in eAppendix 2 in Supplement 2. Medical history was based on review of the electronical medical record.
d
Other includes multiple different locations including the radiology department, the dialysis department, the psychiatric department, and outside departments (eg, hospital entrance).