Cardiac arrest drug has left thousands with brain damage, say scientists

The main drug used to resuscitate cardiac arrest victims has needlessly left thousands of people with brain damage, according to a new trial.

Adrenalin, which paramedics inject when CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and electric shocks are failing to work, barely improves the chances of living – but nearly doubles serious neurological harm among those who do survive.

Scientists believe it may damage the function of blood vessels in the brain, leaving patients in a vegetative state. Either that, or adrenalin causes damage because the heart can survive without oxygen for longer than the brain – meaning that although it can be restarted, the brain is likely to be permanently impaired.

The drug is given to around eight in 10 of the 30,000 people who suffer a cardiac arrest – when the heart stops beating – outside hospital every year in the UK, of whom only 10per cent survive.

The findings, based on a study by the University of Warwick of 8,000 patients across five ambulance areas in England between 2014 and 2017, means that health leaders may now ban ambulance crews from using adrenalin injections.

The authors of the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that it further highlights the importance of CPR and defibrillation skills among members of the general public.

During the study, paramedics attending a cardiac arrest victim administered either an adrenalin shot or a placebo injection. Of the 128 patients who were given adrenalin and survived, 40 (30.1per cent) had severe brain damage, compared with 17 of the 91 survivors (18.7per cent) who were given the placebo.