How Good is a Post-ROSC EKG?

TamingtheSRU

One of the first tests ordered for a patient with ROSC following cardiac arrest is an EKG. Many of these EKGs are profoundly abnormal. Current practice is to evaluate for STEMI and to activate the cardiac cath lab if one is found. But, the test characteristics (sensitivity and specificity) of post-ROSC EKGs are likely different than the test characteristics for patients presenting to the ED with complaints of chest pain/symptoms concerning for ACS. This meta-analysis looked to pull together the existing literature and determine those test characteristics for this critically ill patient population. Read the summary after the link and listen to the podcast to hear a breakdown of this study.