Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to review the available evidence and evaluate the necessity of immediate coronary angiography (CAG) to obtain positive outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients without ST segment elevation.
Data sources: Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and SinoMed databases.
Study selection: We included observational and case-control studies of outcomes among individuals without ST segment elevation experiencing OHCA who had immediate, delayed, or no CAG.
Data extraction: We extracted study details, as well as patient characteristics and outcomes.
Data synthesis: Six studies (n = 2665) investigating mortality until discharge demonstrated a significant increase in survival benefit with early CAG (odds ratio [OR] = 1.78; 95%CI = 1.51-2.11; I = 81%; P < .0001). Seven studies (n = 2909) showed a significant preservation of neurological functions with early CAG at discharge (OR = 1.66; 95%CI = 1.37-2.02; P < .00001). Four studies (n = 1357) investigating survival outcomes with middle-term follow-up revealed no significant benefit with early CAG (OR = 1.21; 95%CI = 0.93-1.57; I = 66%; P = .15).
Conclusions: Our meta-analysis demonstrates that there may be significant benefits in performing immediate CAG on patients who experience OHCA without ST segment elevation.