Characteristics and outcome among patients suffering from in hospital cardiac arrest in relation to the interval between collapse and start of CPR

AIM: To describe survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest in relation to the interval between collapse and start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). PATIENTS: All patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest in Sahlgrenska University Hospital in G?teborg, Sweden between 1994 and 1999 in whom resuscitative efforts were attempted and for whom the interval between collapse and start of CPR was known. METHODS: Prospective recording of various factors at resuscitation including the interval between collapse and start of CPR. Retrospective evaluation via medical records of patients' previous history, clinical situation prior to cardiac arrest and final outcome. RESULTS: Survival to discharge was 33% among the 344 patients in whom CPR was started within the first minute as compared with 14% among the 88 patients in whom CPR started more than 1 min after collapse (P=0.008). The corresponding figures for patients found in ventricular fibrillation was 50 versus 32% (NS); for patients found in pulseless electrical activity 9 versus 3% (NS) and for patients found in asystole 19 versus 0% (NS). Correcting for dissimililarties in the previous history and factors at resuscitation, the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence limits for being discharged from hospital when CPR was started within 1 min compared with a later start was 3.06 with 95% confidence limits of 1.59-6.31. CONCLUSION: Among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest in whom the interval between collapse and start of CPR was known, we found that in 80% of the cases CPR was started within the first minute after collapse. Among these patients, survival to discharge was twice that of patients in whom CPR was started later. These results highlight the importance of immediate CPR after in-hospital cardiac arrest.     

Is there a difference between women and men in characteristics and outcome after in hospital cardiac arrest?

AIM: To describe the characteristics and outcome among patients suffering from an in-hospital cardiac arrest in women and men. METHODS: All patients who suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest during a 4 year period in Sahlgrenska Hospital G?teborg, Sweden, where the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) team was called, were recorded and described prospectively in terms of characteristics and outcome. RESULTS: There were 557 patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest in whom the CPR-team was alerted. Among them, 217 (39%) were women. Women differed from men having a lower prevalence of earlier myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, renal disease and a higher prevalence of rheumatic disease. In terms of aetiology of the cardiac arrest, 47% men and 48% women were judged to have had a confirmed or possible AMI. More men than women were found in ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) (57 vs. 41%; P<0.001), whereas more women were found in pulseless electrical activity (30 vs. 15%; P<0.0001). Cerebral performance categories (CPC)-score at discharge did not differ between men and women. Among women, 36.4% survived to discharge as compared with 38.0% among men (NS). Survival from VF/VT was 64.3% in women and 52.7% in men (NS). When correcting for dissimilarities at baseline, the adjusted odd ratio for being discharged alive from hospital among women as compared with men was 1.66 (95% confidence limit 1.06-2.62; P=0.028). CONCLUSION: Thirty nine percent of patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest for whom the CPR-team was alerted, were women. Women were less frequently found in VF/VT than men. After correcting for dissimilarities at baseline, female gender was associated with a small improvement in survival.     

Patients with a history of diabetes have a lower survival rate after in-hospital cardiac arrest

AIM: To describe the association between a history of diabetes and outcome among patients suffering an in-hospital cardiac arrest. METHOD: All patients suffering an in-hospital cardiac arrest in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in G?teborg between 1994 and 2006 and at nine further hospitals in Sweden between 2005 and 2006. RESULTS: In all, 1810 patients were included in the survey, 395 (22%) of whom had a previous history of diabetes. Patients with a history of diabetes differed from those without such a history by having a higher prevalence of previous myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and renal disease. They were more frequently treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs during resuscitation. Whereas immediate survival did not differ between groups (51.7% and 53.1%, respectively), patients with diabetes were discharged alive from hospital (29.3%) less frequently compared with those without diabetes (37.6%). When correcting for dissimilarities at baseline, the adjusted odds ratio for being discharged alive (diabetes/no diabetes) was 0.57 (95% CL 0.40-0.79). CONCLUSION: Among patients suffering an in-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden in whom CPR was attempted, 22% had a history of diabetes. These patients had a lower survival rate, which cannot simply be explained by different co-morbidity.     

Treatment and outcome in post-resuscitation care after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest when a modern therapeutic approach was introduced

BACKGROUND: The outcome among patients who are hospitalised alive after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is still relatively poor. At present, there are no clear guidelines specifying how they should be treated. The aim of this survey was to describe the outcome for initial survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest when a more aggressive approach was applied. PATIENTS: All patients hospitalised alive after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Municipality of G?teborg, Sweden, during a period of 20 months. RESULTS: Of all the patients in the municipality suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted (n=375), 85 patients (23%) were hospitalised alive and admitted to a hospital ward. Of them, 65% had a cardiac aetiology and 50% were found in ventricular fibrillation. In 32% of the patients, hypothermia was attempted, 28% underwent a coronary angiography and 21% had a mechanical revascularisation. In overall terms, 27 of the 85 patients who were brought alive to a hospital ward (32%) survived to 30 days after cardiac arrest. Survival was only moderately higher among patients treated with hypothermia versus not (37% versus 29%; NS), and it was markedly higher among those who had early coronary angiography versus not (67% versus 18%; p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: In an era in which a more aggressive attitude was applied in post-resuscitation care, we found that the survival (32%) was similar to that in previous surveys. However, early coronary angiography was associated with a marked increase in survival and might be of benefit to many of these patients. Larger registries are important to further confirm the value of hypothermia in representative patient populations.     

Characteristics and outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest when patients are found in a non-shockable rhythm

AIM: To define factors associated with an improved outcome among patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) who were found in a non-shockable rhythm. PATIENTS: All the patients included in the Swedish OHCA registry between 1990 and 2005 in whom resuscitation was attempted, who were found in a non-shockable rhythm and where either the OHCA was witnessed by a bystander or was not witnessed. RESULTS: In all, 22,465 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Their mean age was 67 years, 32% were women, 57% were witnessed, 64% had a cardiac aetiology, 71% occurred at home and 34% received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Survival to 1 month was 1.3%. The following were independently associated with an increased chance of survival: 1/Decreasing age, 2/Witnessed arrest, 3/Bystander CPR, 4/Cardiac arrest outside home, 5/Shorter ambulance response time and 6/Need for defibrillatory shock. If these six criteria were fulfilled (age and ambulance response time below the median), survival to 1 month increased to 12.6%. If no criteria were fulfilled, survival was 0.15%. CONCLUSION: The overall survival among patients with an OHCA found in a non-shockable rhythm is very low (1.3%). Six factors associated with survival can be defined. When they are taken into account, survival varies between 12.6 and 0.15%.     

Major differences in 1-month survival between hospitals in Sweden among initial survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

AIM: To explore the rate of survival to hospital discharge among patients who were brought to hospital alive after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in different hospitals in Sweden. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients who had suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest which was not witnessed by the ambulance crew, in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started and who had a palpable pulse on admission to hospital were evaluated for inclusion. Each participating ambulance organisation and its corresponding hospital(s) required at least 50 patients fulfilling these criteria. RESULTS: Three thousand eight hundred and fifty three patients who were brought to hospital by 21 different ambulance organisations fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The number of patients rescued by each ambulance organisation varied between 55 and 900. The survival rate, defined as alive 1 month after cardiac arrest, varied from 14% to 42%. When correcting for dissimilarities in characteristics and factors of the resuscitation, the adjusted odds ratio for survival to 1 month among patients brought to hospital alive in the three ambulance organisations with the highest survival versus the three with the lowest survival was 2.63 (95% CI: 1.77-3.88). CONCLUSION: There is a marked variability between hospitals in the rate of 1-month survival among patients who were alive on hospital admission after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. One possible contributory factor is the standard of post-resuscitation care.     

Association between interval between call for ambulance and return of spontaneous circulation and survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

AIM: To describe the association between the interval between the call for ambulance and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. PATIENTS: All patients suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started, included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry (SCAR) for whom information about the time of calling for an ambulance and the time of ROSC was available. RESULTS: Among 26,192 patients who were included in SCAR and were not witnessed by the ambulance crew, information about the time of call for an ambulance and the time of ROSC was available in 4847 patients (19%). There was a very strong relationship between the interval between call for an ambulance and ROSC and survival to one month. If the interval was less than or equal to 5 min, 47% survived to one month. If the interval exceeded 30 min, only 5% (n = 35) survived to one month. The vast majority of the latter survivors had a shockable rhythm either on admission of the rescue team or at some time during resuscitation. CONCLUSION: Among patients who have ROSC after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, there is a very strong association between the interval between the call for ambulance and ROSC and survival to one month. However, even if this delay is very long (> 30 min after calling for an ambulance), a small percentage will ultimately survive; they are mainly patients who at some time during resuscitation have a shockable rhythm. The overall percentage of patients for whom CPR continued for more than 30 min who are alive one month later can be assumed to be extremely low.     

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in critically ill neurologic-neurosurgical patients

OBJECTIVES: To establish the rate of successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and to study outcome predictors in patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest after being admitted to the neurologic-neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) with a primary neurologic diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified patients admitted to the neurologic-neurosurgical ICU between 1994 and 2001 who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest and received CPR. Functional outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin scale. RESULTS: During the study period, 38 consecutive patients experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest and received CPR. The median age of the patients was 65 years (range, 16-81 years), and the mean interval from admission to CPR was 12 days (range, 3 hours to 47 days). Acute intracranial disease was present in 32 patients (84%). Twenty-one patients (55%) were in the ICU at the time of the cardiac arrest; cardiac arrests in the wards occurred at a mean interval of 9 days (range, 1-45 days) after ICU discharge. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation achieved return of spontaneous circulation in 23 patients (61%). Seven patients (18%) were discharged from the hospital, 5 of whom later achieved a modified Rankin scale score of 2 or lower. Cardiac arrest after a deteriorating clinical course resulted in uniformly fatal outcomes. Duration of CPR shorter than 5 minutes and CPR in the ICU were associated with survival and good functional recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a worthwhile procedure in severely ill neurologic-neurosurgical patients, regardless of the patient's age. However, the outcome after CPR appears much worse in patients with a prior deteriorating clinical course.     

Characteristics and outcome among patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest of non-cardiac aetiology

AIM: To describe the epidemiology for out of hospital cardiac arrest of a non-cardiac aetiology. PATIENTS: All patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest in whom resuscitation efforts were attempted in the community of G?teborg between 1981 and 2000. METHODS: Between October 1, 1980 and October 1, 2000, all consecutive cases of cardiac arrest in which the emergency medical service (EMS) system responded and attempted resuscitation were reported and followed up to discharge from hospital. RESULTS: In all, 5415 patients participated in the evaluation. Among them 1360 arrests (25%) were judged to be of a non-cardiac aetiology. Among these 24% were caused by a surgical cause or accident, 20% by obstructive pulmonary disease, 13% by drug abuse and the remaining 43% by 'another cause'. Of the patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest of a non-cardiac aetiology 4.0% survived to discharge from hospital as compared with 10.1% of the patients with a cardiac aetiology (P<0.0001). In the various subgroups survival was highest in those with drug abuse (6.8%) and lowest in those with 'another cause' (4.2%). Cerebral performance categories (CPC) score at hospital discharge tended to be worse among survivors from an arrest of non-cardiac than cardiac aetiology. Patients with a cardiac arrest of a non-cardiac aetiology differed from the remaining patients by being younger, including more women, less frequently having a witnessed arrest and less frequently being found in ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia. When simultaneously considering age, sex, witnessed status, presence of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and initial arrhythmia, the aetiology (non-cardiac vs. cardiac aetiology) was not an independent predictor of survival. CONCLUSION: Among patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest in whom resuscitation was attempted 25% were judged to be of a non-cardiac aetiology. These patients had a lower survival than patients with a cardiac arrest of cardiac aetiology. However, this was mainly explained by a lower occurrence of ventricular fibrillation and witnessed cardiac arrest.     

Assessment of the success of cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts performed in a Turkish university hospital

The success rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may differ from institution to institution, even within different sites in the same institution. A variety of factors may influence the outcome. In this study, we assessed the adequacy of CPR attempts guided by the current standards and aimed to define the factors influencing the outcome following in-hospital cardiac arrest. One hundred and thirty-four patients who required CPR were studied prospectively. Different variables for the CPR performance were recorded using forms designed for this study in the light of the guidelines. In these CPR forms various data including the demographics, history, monitoring, number, composition and experience of the anaesthesiologists, the site of CPR, time of day, the delay before onset of CPR, tracheal intubation, duration of arrest, initial rhythm in ECG monitored patients, management of CPR, drug administration and reversible causes of cardiac arrest were recorded. Our rates of immediate survival, survival at 24 h and survival to discharge 49.3%, 28.5% and 13.4%, respectively. The extent of monitoring prior to arrest, the attendance of one or more experienced anesthesiologists in the CPR team, CPR during office hours, CPR in ICU or operating room, early initiation of CPR and tracheal intubation prior to arrest were found as the factors increasing discharge survival. We conclude that early initiation of CPR with an experienced team in a well-equipped hospital sites increases the discharge survival rate following cardiac arrest.     

Outcome from paediatric cardiac arrest associated with trauma

OBJECTIVE: To examine survival rates for paediatric trauma patients requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the pre-hospital setting, and to identify characteristics that may be associated with survival. DESIGN: Ten-year retrospective trauma database review. SETTING: An urban physician-led pre-hospital trauma service serving a population of approximately 7.5 million, in the United Kingdom. PATIENTS: Eighty paediatric trauma patients (15 years or less) who received pre-hospital resuscitation following cardiorespiratory arrest between July 1994 and June 2004. INTERVENTION: Pre-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Survival to hospital discharge. RESULTS: Eighty children met inclusion criteria for the study. Nineteen (23.8%) were discharged alive from the emergency department and seven children (8.75%) survived to hospital discharge. Of the seven survivors, one had spinal cord injury. Two suffered asphyxial injury associated with blunt trauma and three sustained hypoxic insults following drowning or burns/smoke inhalation. In one patient with known congenital cardiac disease the cause of cardiac arrest was likely to have been medical. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the poor outcome for children requiring pre-hospital CPR following trauma. However, the results are better in this physician-attended group than in other studies where physicians were not present. They also suggest that cardiac arrest associated with trauma in children has a better outcome than in adults. In common with adults treated in this system, those patients with hypovolaemic cardiac arrest did not survive (Ann Emerg Med 2006;48:240-4). A large proportion of the survivors suffered hypoxic or asphyxial injuries. Targeted aggressive out-of-hospital resuscitation in certain patient groups can produce good outcomes.     

There is a difference in characteristics and outcome between women and men who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrest

Objective: To evaluate whether there is a difference in characteristics and outcome in relation to gender among patients who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrest. Design: Observational study. Setting: The community of Göteborg. Patients: All patients in the community of Göteborg who suffered out of hospital cardiac arrest between 1980 and 1996, and in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. Main outcome measures: Factors at resuscitation and the proportion of patients being hospitalized and discharged from hospital. P values were corrected for age. Results: The women were older than the men (median of 73 vs. 69 years; P<0.0001), they received bystander-CPR less frequently (11 vs. 15%; P=0.003), they were found in ongoing ventricular fibrillation less frequently (28 vs. 44%; P<0.0001), and their arrests were judged to be of cardiac origin less frequently. In a multivariate analysis considering age, gender, arrest being due to a cardiac etiology, initial arrhythmia and by-stander initiated CPR, female gender appeared as an independent predictor for patients being brought to hospital alive (odds ratio 1.37; P=0.001) but not for patients being discharged from hospital. Conclusion: Among patients who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrest with attempted CPR women differ from men being older, receive bystander CPR less frequently, have a cardiac etiology less frequently and are found in ventricular fibrillation less frequently. Finally female gender is associated with an increased chance of arriving at hospital alive.     

Is female sex associated with increased survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?

AIM: To evaluate survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in relation to sex. METHODS: All patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry between 1990 and 2000 in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted and who did not have a crew witnessed arrest were included. The registry covers 85% of the inhabitants of Sweden (approximately 8 million inhabitants). P-values were adjusted to differences in age. Survival was defined as patients being hospitalised alive and being alive one month after cardiac arrest. In all, 23,797 patients participated in the survey of which 27.9% were women. RESULTS: Among women 16.4% were hospitalised alive versus 13.2% among men ( P<0.001). After one month 3.0% among women were alive versus 3.4% among men (NS). In a multivariate analysis considering differences in age and various factors at resuscitation female sex was an independent predictor for patients being hospitalised alive (odds ratio 1.66; 95% confidence limits 1.49-1.84) and for being alive after one month (odds ratio 1.27; 95% confidence limits 1.03-1.56). Women differed from men as they were older ( P<0.001 ), had a lower prevalence of witnessed cardiac arrest ( P=0.01), a lower occurrence of bystander CPR (P<0.001), a lower occurrence of ventricular fibrillation as initial arrhythmia (P<0.001) and a lower occurrence of cardiac disease judged to be the cause of cardiac arrest ( P<0.0001 ). On the other hand they had a cardiac arrest at home more frequently ( P<0.001 ). CONCLUSION: Among patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden which was not crew witnessed and in whom resuscitation efforts were attempted, female sex was associated with an increased survival.     

Survey of outcome of CPR in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest in a medical center in Taiwan

Purpose of the studyWhile the outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) are reported for many regions, none is reported for Asian countries. We report the outcomes of CPR for pediatric IHCA in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan and also identify prognostic factors associated with poor outcome.MethodsData were retrieved retrospectively from 2000 to 2003 and prospectively from 2004 to 2006 from our web-based registry system. We evaluated patients younger than 18 years of age who had IHCA and received CPR. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge, and the secondary outcomes were sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and favorable neurological outcomes as assessed by pediatric cerebral performance categories (PCPC).ResultsWe identified 316 patients and the overall hospital survival was 20.9% and 16.1% had favorable neurological outcomes. Sixty-four patients ever supported with ECMO. We further analyzed 252 patients who underwent conventional CPR only and most had cardiac disease (133/252, 52.8%). The second most common preexisting condition was hematologic or oncologic disease (43/252, 17.1%). Of the 252 patients, 153 (60.7%) achieved sustained ROSC, 50 (19.8%) survived to discharge, and 39 patients (15.5%) had favorable neurological outcomes. CPR during off-work hours resulted in inferior chances of reaching sustained ROSC. Multivariate analysis showed that long CPR duration, hematology/oncology patients, and pre-arrest vasoactive drug infusion were significantly associated with decreased hospital survival (p < 0.05).ConclusionsOutcomes of CPR for pediatric patients with IHCA in Taiwan were comparable to corresponding reports in Western countries, but more hematology/oncology patients were included. Long CPR duration, hematologic or oncologic underlying diseases, and vasoactive agent infusion prior IHCA were associated with poor outcomes. The concept of palliative care should be proposed to families of terminally ill cancer patients in order to avoid unnecessary patient suffering. Also, establishing a balanced duty system in the future might increase chances of sustained ROSC.     

CPR before defibrillation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a randomized trial

Objective: Current resuscitation guidelines recommend that defibrillation be undertaken as soon as possible in patients suffering a cardiac arrest where the cardiac rhythm is either ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT). Evidence from animal and clinical studies suggests that outcomes may be improved if a period of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is given prior to defibrillation. The objective of this study was to determine if 90 seconds of CPR before defibrillation improved survival. Methods: Patients suffering non‐paramedic witnessed VF/VT cardiac arrest were randomized to receive either 90 seconds of CPR before defibrillation (treatment) or immediate defibrillation (control). The study was carried out in Perth, Western Australia between June 2000 and June 2002. The primary endpoint was survival to hospital discharge with secondary endpoints of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival at 1 year. Results: A total of 256 patients underwent randomization. Baseline characteristics including response intervals were similar in both groups. Survival to hospital discharge in the CPR first group was 4.2% (5/119) compared with 5.1% (7/137) for the immediate defibrillation group (OR 0.81; 95%CI. 0.25–2.64). No difference in those achieving ROSC was observed between the groups (OR 1.16; 95% CI 0.49–2.80). Conclusion: Ninety seconds of CPR before defibrillation does not improve overall survival in patients suffering VF/VT cardiac arrests. Further studies to evaluate various aspects of this treatment strategy are required as published outcomes to date are inconclusive.     

Characteristics and outcome of false cardiac arrests in hospital

BACKGROUND: Not all hospitalised patients with symptoms of a presumed or threatened cardiac arrest, for whom the rescue team is alerted, eventually suffer a cardiac arrest. This article aims to describe the characteristics and outcome of "false cardiac arrests". METHODS: All patients hospitalised at Sahlgrenska University Hospital for whom the rescue team was alerted between 1 November 1994 and 15 October 2002 were included. RESULTS: In all, there were 1538 calls for the rescue team, of which 70% were caused by cardiac arrest, 9% by respiratory arrest and 21% by "other causes". Survival to discharge was 36% among patients with cardiac arrest, 64% among patients with respiratory arrest and 77% among patients with "other reasons for calling" (p<0.0001 for trend). Among survivors, a cerebral performance categories (CPC) score of 1 at hospital discharge was found in 83% of those with a cardiac arrest, 59% with respiratory arrest and 82% with other reasons for calling (NS for trend). CONCLUSION: Among patients at a Swedish university hospital for whom the rescue team was alerted, about one-third have a "false cardiac arrest". These patients had a survival rate which was about twice that of patients with a "true cardiac arrest". However, among survivors, cerebral function at discharge was similar, regardless of "false" or "true" cardiac arrest.     

Diurnal,weekly and seasonal rhythm of out of hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden

AIM: To describe the diurnal, weekly and seasonal rhythm among patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden. METHODS: All patients in Sweden between 1990 and 1999 participating in a National Registry covering 65% of all patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest where cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted. Only patients with a cardiac arrest of a cardiac aetiology and aged > 18 years were included in the survey. RESULTS: 10,868 patients fulfilled inclusion criteria. In terms of the diurnal rhythm, there was a progressive increase in the development of cardiac arrest from 06:00 h, reaching a peak at about 10:00 h. Thereafter, there was a progressive decline until 05:00 h. The diurnal rhythm was more marked among patients aged > 65 years and among patients in whom the arrest occurred outside home. There was a weekly rhythm with an increased incidence of cardiac arrest on Mondays. This was particularly evident among patients aged < 66 years and among men. A cardiac arrest occurred most frequently in January and December. This was particularly observed in the large cities. CONCLUSION: We found that out of hospital cardiac arrest of a cardiac etiology has a diurnal, weekly and seasonal rhythm occurring most frequently in the morning hours, on Mondays and in December and January. Age, sex and place of arrest influence these rhythms.     

In-hospital cardiac arrest--an Utstein style report of seven years experience from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital

BACKGROUND: In-hospital cardiac arrest is one of the most stressful situations in modern medicine. Since 1997, there has been a uniform way of reporting - the Utstein guidelines for in-hospital cardiac arrest reporting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have studied all consecutive cardiac arrest in the Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SU) between 1994 and 2001 for who the rescue team was alerted in all 833 patients. The primary endpoint for this study was survival to discharge. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent survived to hospital discharge. Among patients who were discharged alive, 86% were alive 1 year later. The survivors have a good cerebral outcome (94% among those who were discharged alive had cerebral performance category (CPC) score 1 or 2). The organization at SU is efficient; 80% of the cardiac arrest had CPR within 1 min. Time from cardiac arrest to first defibrillation is a median of 2 min. Almost two-thirds of the patients were admitted for cardiac related diagnoses. CONCLUSION: The current study is the largest single-centre study of in hospital cardiac arrest reported according to the Utstein guidelines. We report a high survival for in-hospital cardiac arrest. We have pointed out that a functional chain of survival, short intervals before the start of CPR and defibrillation are probably contributing factors for this.     

创伤性心跳骤停预后因素分析及其对策

目的 分析创伤性心跳骤停预后因素,总结复苏成功经验。方法 应用回顾性分析方法对本院近两年来创伤性心跳骤停病人各因素和出院存活率进行分析。结果 两年来共收治创伤性心跳骤停病人74例,存活率为6.75％;院内与院外心跳骤停存活率无差别,室颤比心电静止存活率高。立即复苏组比未立即复苏组存活率高,存活组受伤至心跳骤停时间比死亡组长,存活5例在立即进行心肺复苏同时还针对病因进行手术治疗。结论 创伤性心跳骤停复苏存活率总体水平不高,心跳骤停发生地点与存活率没有明显关系,但室颤、心跳骤停发生时间晚、早期复苏、积极处理病因者存活可能性大。     

Characteristics and outcome among patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to drowning

AIM: To describe the characteristics and outcome among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) caused by drowning as compared with OHCA caused by a cardiac etiology (outside home). PATIENTS AND METHODS: All the patients included in the Swedish OHCA Registry between 1990 and 2005 which were not crew witnessed, in whom cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted, were evaluated for inclusion. Those caused by drowning were compared with those with a cardiac etiology (outside home). RESULTS: Patients with OHCA due to drowning (n=255) differed from patients with OHCA with a cardiac etiology (n=7494) as they were younger, less frequently suffered a witnessed OHCA, more frequently received bystander CPR and less frequently were found in a shockable rhythm. Patients with OHCA due to drowning had a prolonged ambulance response time as compared with patients with OHCA with a cardiac etiology. Patients with OHCA due to drowning had a survival rate to 1 month of 11.5% as compared with 8.8% among patients with OHCA due to a cardiac etiology (NS). Among patients with OHCA due to drowning, only one independent predictor of survival was defined, i.e. time from calling for an ambulance until the arrival of the rescue team, with a much higher survival among patients with a shorter ambulance response time. CONCLUSION: Among patients with OHCA 0.9% were caused by drowning. They had a similar survival rate to 1 month as compared with OHCA outside home with a cardiac etiology. The factor associated with survival was the ambulance response time; a higher survival with a shorter response time.