Incidence and factors associated with out-of-hospital peri-intubation cardiac arrest: a secondary analysis of the CURASMUR trial

The Incidence of peri-intubation cardiac arrest (PICA) has been rarely assessed in the out-of-hospital setting. The objectives of this study were to assess the incidence and factors associated with PICA (cardiac arrest occurring within 15 min of intubation) in an out-of-hospital emergency setting, wherein emergency physicians perform standardized airway management using a rapid sequence intubation technique in adult patients. This was a secondary analysis of the “Succinylcholine versus Rocuronium for out-of-hospital emergency intubation” (CURASMUR) trial, which compared the first attempt intubation success rate between succinylcholine and rocuronium in adult patients requiring emergency tracheal intubation for any vital distress except cardiac arrest. Enrollment occurred from January 2014 to August 2016 in 17 French out-of-hospital emergency medical units. All operators were emergency physicians. The PICA incidence was recorded and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with its occurrence. A total of 1226 patients were included with a mean age of 55.9 ± 19 years. PICA was recorded in 35 (2.8%) patients. Multivariable analysis indicated that the occurrence of PICA was independently associated with a body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg m² [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 4.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.82–12.90, p = 0.02], oxygen saturation (SpO₂) before intubation < 90% (aOR 3.4; 95% CI 1.50–7.60, p = 0.003), difficult intubation (defined by an Intubation Difficulty Score [IDS] > 5, [aOR 3.59; 95% CI 1.82–8.08, p = 0.02], the use of rocuronium instead of succinylcholine (aOR 2.47; 95% CI 1.08–5.64, p = 0.03), post intubation hypoxaemia (aOR 2.70; 95% CI 1.05–6.95, p = 0.04), post-intubation hypotension (aOR 4.07; 95% CI 1.62–10.22, p = 0.003), and pulmonary aspiration(aOR 4.78; 95% CI 1.48–15.36, p = 0.009). Early PICA occurred in approximately 3% of cases in the out-of-hospital setting. We identified several independent risk factors for PICA, including obesity, hypoxaemia before intubation and difficult intubation.