Activation of the kynurenine pathway predicts mortality and neurological outcome in cardiac arrest patients: A validation study

Activation of the kynurenine pathway (KP) has been shown to predict outcome in cardiac arrest (CA) patients. We validated these findings in a Swiss cohort. We measured admission tryptophan and kynurenine levels in 270 consecutive CA patients (38 in-hospital CA) and investigated associations with in-hospital mortality and neurological outcome at hospital discharge. 120 of 270 (44%) patients died in the hospital. Compared to survivors, non-survivors showed higher median initial kynurenine levels (5.28 μmol/l [IQR 2.91 to 7.40] vs 3.58 μmol/l [IQR 2.47 to 5.46]; p