Background: Rapid and reliable vascular access is crucial during cardiopulmonary resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). While intraosseous (IO) and intravenous (IV) access are used, their comparative effectiveness for patient outcomes remains uncertain.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov for RCTs comparing IO vs. IV access in adults with OHCA. The primary outcome was survival (30 days or until discharge), while secondary outcomes included sustained ROSC, favorable neurological outcome, successful first-attempt vascular access, and time from emergency medical service arrival to access. Pooled odds ratios (OR), mean differences (MD), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.

Results: Four RCTs with 9475 patients were included. No significant differences were found between IO and IV groups in survival (6.6% vs. 6.9%, OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.84-1.18) or favorable neurological outcome (4.7% vs. 4.6%, OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.88-1.30). The sustained ROSC rate was numerically, but not significantly, lower in IO vs. IV access (24.6% vs. 27.0%, OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.80-1.06). IO access had a higher first-attempt success rate (92.3% vs. 62.3%; OR 6.18, 95% CI 3.50-10.91) and was 15 s faster than IV for vascular access (IO: 11.03 ± 5.57, IV: 11.35 ± 6.16 min, MD – 0.25, 95% CI – 0.48 to – 0.01).

Conclusions: IO access had a higher first-attempt success rate and faster establishment than IV access, but no significant differences were found in survival or favorable neurological outcomes in adults with OHCA. Sustained ROSC was numerically lower with IO access than IV access, although the difference was not statistically significant.

Alilou S, Moskowitz A, Rashedi S. Intraosseous versus intravenous vascular access in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Crit Care. 2025 Mar 19;29(1):124. doi: 10.1186/s13054-025-05362-2. PMID: 40108619; PMCID: PMC11921642.