Acute cardiac care & resuscitationMeta-analysis
Effect of immunomodulation on post-cardiac arrest brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- systematic review and meta-analysis
- randomized controlled trials
- random effect model
- Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool
- GRADE methodology
Authors' conclusion
Across all studies, immunomodulating therapies were not associated with significant increases in favorable neurologic outcomes or survival. Between-study heterogeneity in intervention dosage, outcomes, timing of assessment, and biomarker profiling limited direct comparison and supports the need for future trials. Prospero registration: CRD420251068980.
Study context
- Population
- Adults resuscitated following in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest11 studies plus 3 sub-studies
- Participants
- 2,605 adults
- Comparison
- Immunomodulatory therapeutics in patients resuscitated following cardiac arrest
Pooled result
Favorable neurological outcome
Relative risk
1.04
95% CI 0.85–1.28
Immunomodulatory therapies
RR 1.04 (95% CI 0.85–1.28)
As reported in the abstract
Further pooled results
Mortality
| Comparison | RR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Immunomodulatory therapies · not associated with a decrease | 0.97 (0.91–1.03) | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
IL-6 levels · 24 h following glucocorticoid administration
- A trend toward decreased IL-6 levels
Search and study selection
- studies yielded
- 19,558
- duplicates
- 2351
- full texts reviewed
- Fifty-eight
- The overall quality of evidence was limited by heterogeneous interventions and timing.
Original publication
Effect of immunomodulation on post-cardiac arrest brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Resuscitation. Published 11 April 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111091
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it