Cardiac arrest & resuscitation

Sodium Bicarbonate for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Clinical Trial

JAMAPublished Randomised controlled trial

Primary result · Sustained return of spontaneous circulationResult — go to the resultRelative risk 1.05 95% CI 0.88–1.24

Authors' conclusion

There was no significant difference in sustained return of spontaneous circulation between sodium bicarbonate and placebo in adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Study context

Population
Adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest who received at least 1 dose of epinephrine779 eligible for primary analyses
Participants
913 adults
Comparison
Sodium bicarbonate vs placebo
  • Sodium bicarbonaten = 372
  • Placebon = 407reference
Primary endpoint
Sustained return of spontaneous circulation
Methodological detailsparallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 21 hospitals in Denmark
  • Parallel-group
  • Double-blind
  • Placebo-controlled
  • 21 hospitals in Denmark

Primary result

As reported in the abstract

Relative risk

1.05

95% CI 0.88–1.24

P = 0.62

Events by treatment group

Sodium bicarbonate vs Placebo
RR 1.05 (95% CI 0.88–1.24); P = 0.62

Secondary outcomes

OutcomeSodium bicarbonatePlaceboRR (95% CI)
Survival · 30 days12%9.1%1.25 (0.84–1.88)
Favourable neurologic outcome (modified Rankin Scale 0–3) · 30 days8.1%5.4%1.39 (0.82–2.34)

Safety

Alkalosis and hypernatremia after cardiac arrest

More common with sodium bicarbonate

Original publication

Sodium Bicarbonate for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. Published 25 August 2026. doi:10.1001/jama.2026.10628

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