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Cardiac arrest

Prolonged fasting raises defibrillation needs in pigs

Impact of pre-arrest glycemic state induced by prolonged fasting on defibrillation requirements: a prospective porcine model of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest
Resuscitation Plus · Added 18 August 2026

Porcine model of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest found that prolonged fasting-induced lower pre-arrest glycemia was associated with increased defibrillation requirements (median 2 vs 1 shock) and longer CPR duration, despite similar sustained ROSC rates.

Study type

Simulation

Design

Prospective randomised porcine model of VF cardiac arrest

Participants

20 male Landrace pigs randomised to 36-h or 12-h fasting

Main finding

36-h fasting group needed more shocks (median 2 vs 1, P=0.035) and longer CPR (median 344 s vs 191 s, P=0.043); sustained ROSC similar (70% vs 90%, P=0.582); higher pre-arrest glucose associated with fewer shocks (IRR 0.980 per mg/dL, P=0.002)

Caveat

Animal model, small sample, limited translation to human OHCA

Bottom line

Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Weigh how pre-arrest glycaemic state may influence defibrillation success in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

More

• Topic: Cardiac arrest
• Daily scan: 18 August 2026

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