The Effect of SPecialty cAre on Recovery From Cardiac Arrest Trial (the SPARC Trial)

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH · May 23, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The SPARC Trial is a study that aims to find out if patients who have experienced a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital recover better when they are transferred to specialized cardiac centers for treatment. The trial will focus on adults who have been successfully resuscitated and are in the emergency department. Researchers want to see if receiving care at a specialized hospital improves the patients' recovery after 90 days compared to those who receive care at a nearby hospital.

To be eligible for this trial, participants must be at least 18 years old, have had a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital, and have been brought back to life with a pulse in the emergency department. Participants will receive standard medical care, and some will be transferred to a regional cardiac arrest center while others will stay at the nearest appropriate hospital. After three months, the researchers will check in with the participants to assess how well they are recovering. This study is not yet recruiting participants, but it aims to provide valuable insights into the best care for heart arrest survivors.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
• • Resuscitated from cardiac arrest with palpable pulse in the emergency department
• • Treated at one of participating hospital emergency departments
• • Age ≥18 years
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Known prior advanced directives or decision to limit critical care
• • Known pre-arrest dependent functional status (e.g., living in a skilled nursing facility, hospice or bedbound)
• • Arrest in the emergency department \>4 hours after arrival
• • Traumatic etiology of arrest
• • Known to have opted-out from the SPARC trial