Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Blood pressure targets after return of circulation following cardiac arrest in infants and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
Early hypotension after return of circulation post cardiac arrest is associated with worse outcomes in infants and children after cardiac arrest.
Study context
- Population
- Infants and children after in-hospital or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
- Participants
- 2,855 infants · 11 observational studies
- Comparison
- Systolic blood pressure (SBP) >5th percentile vs SBP <5th percentile
- Outcome
- Survival to hospital discharge and survival with favourable neurological outcome
- Follow-up
- Hospital discharge
Methodological detailsGRADE, No randomised clinical trials were found, Risk of bias low, Variation in time points, BP definitions and outcome assessment limited pooled analysis
- GRADE
- No randomised clinical trials were found
- Risk of bias low
- Variation in time points, BP definitions and outcome assessment limited pooled analysis
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
SBP >5th percentile vs SBP <5th percentileRelative risk (95 % CI)P value
Survival to hospital discharge
1.41(1.2–1.6)
P = 0.01Survival with favourable neurological outcome
1.25(1.11–1.64)
P = 0.01Further pooled results
SBP >10th centile for age · hospital discharge
| Comparison | RR (95 % CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBP >10th centileSurvival at hospital discharge | 1.21 (1.00–1.33) | P < 0.01 | |
| SBP >10th centileSurvival with favourable neurological outcome | 1.22 (1.10–1.35) | P < 0.01 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
Mean BP (>10th percentile) and DBP (>50th percentile) targets
- Associated with improved critical outcomes
Original publication
Blood pressure targets after return of circulation following cardiac arrest in infants and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Resuscitation. Published 16 September 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it