J Clin Med Res

Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, ISSN 1918-3003 print, 1918-3011 online, Open Access

Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, J Clin Med Res and Elmer Press Inc

Journal website http://www.jocmr.org

Original Article

Volume 8, Number 3, March 2016, pages 190-195

Tissue Plasminogen Activator Use in Cardiac Arrest Secondary to Fulminant Pulmonary Embolism

Figures

Figure 1. Survival to discharge for the tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and control groups.

Figure 2. Return of spontaneous circulation for the tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and control groups.

Figure 3. Major bleeding events for the tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and control groups.

Tables

**Table 1.** Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of the Total Sample and by tPA Versus Control Group
Variable	Total sample (n = 42)	tPA group (n = 19)	Control group (n = 23)	P value
tPA: tissue plasminogen activator.
Age, years (mean ± SD)	66.5 ± 14.1	64.6 ± 14.8	68.0 ± 13.6	0.45
Male sex, n (%)	24 (57.1)	9 (47.4)	15 (65.2)	0.25
Prior use of anticoagulant, n (%)	15 (35.7)	9 (47.4)	6 (26.1)	0.42
Current cancer diagnosis, n (%)	9 (21.4)	5 (26.3)	4 (17.4)	0.48
Diagnostic procedure
Echocardiogram, n (%)	24 (57.1)	13 (68.4)	11 (47.8)	0.04
Other procedure, n (%)	18 (42.9)	6 (31.6)	12 (52.2)	0.04

**Table 2.** Summary of Case Reports on the Use of Thrombolytics During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Authors	Year	Patient age and sex	History	Thrombolysis regimen	Complications
rtPA: recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.
Zhu et al [6]	2015	33-year-old female	Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura	5 mg of rtPA by deep vein catheter and another 45 mg by constant pump infusion	No complications
Toprak et al [7]	2014	55-year-old male	Syncopal episodes and angina on exertion	2 doses of 25 mg rtPA at 5-min intervals directly into the pulmonary artery via a pigtail catheter	No complications
Hsin et al [8]	2014	52-year-old female	Paroxysmal dyspnea	Urokinase 10⁶ U in 100 mL of normal saline infused during a 30-min interval	Non-coagulated blood causing ascites, resolved
Gupta et al [9]	2014	52-year-old male	Unconscious at home	Alteplase at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg during a 2-min interval and a heparin drip	No complications