The use of cardiac pacing to deal with
bradycardia is well established. There is debate as to the benefits during
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (
CPR). This study was performed to compare the effects of transoesophageal cardiac pacing and high-dose
epinephrine on the benefits of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation after asphyxial
cardiac arrest in rats. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats of both sexes were randomly selected to a saline group (Sal-gro, treated with
normal saline 1 mL IV, n = 10), an
epinephrine group (Epi-gro, treated with
epinephrine 0.4 mg/kg IV, n = 10), or a pacing group (Pac-gro, treated with
normal saline 1 mL IV combined with transoesophageal cardiac pacing, n = 10) in a blinded fashion during
resuscitation after 10 minutes of asphyxial
cardiac arrest. Manual chest compression was in all cases performed using the same methodology by the same personnel who was blinded to hemodynamic monitor tracings. The rate of restoration of spontaneous circulation was 1 (10%), 7 (70%), and 8 (80%) of 10 in Sal-gro, Epi-gro, and Pac-gro, respectively. The rate of
ventilator withdrawal within 60 minutes after
resuscitation in Pac-gro was higher than that of Epi-gro (8/8 vs 1/7, respectively; P = .001); the survival rate after 2 hours in Pac-gro was significantly higher than that in Epi-gro (7/8 vs 1/7, respectively; P = .01). The data demonstrate that both
epinephrine and transoesophageal cardiac pacing are effective within 10 minutes of
asphyxia in rats. It is worth noting that transoesophageal cardiac pacing produced a better outcome with respiration and longer survival time compared with
epinephrine after restoration of spontaneous circulation.