Characterizing cardiopulmonary arrest during interventional radiology procedures

Careful case selection and preparation can prevent most cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) in the interventional radiology (IR) suite. A series of CPAs was analyzed to provide insight into risk factors for these events.

A single-institution CPA database was used to identify all code team activations from January 1, 2005, to May 30, 2011, in the IR department. Medical records were searched for medical history, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, moderate sedation, and outcomes. Procedural data and procedure classification was acquired from the HI-IQ database.

There were 36,489 procedures and 23 CPAs during the study period. Of the 23 patients with CPAs, 12 (52%) were male and 11 (48%) female, and average age was 57 years ± 19 (standard deviation). Risk factors included a 56% incidence of diabetes mellitus, 48% incidence of hypertension, and 78% incidence of renal failure. Of the patients with kidney disease, 56% were chronically dialysis-dependent, and an additional 9% were undergoing central venous catheter placement for new hemodialysis. Seventy-eight percent had ASA status of III or greater, and 57% underwent moderate sedation during the procedure. Relative risk of a CPA during dialysis shunt interventions versus arterial interventions was 3.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.0-11.3; P = .045). Eight of 23 (35%) died: one (12%) during resuscitation and seven (88%) after resuscitation (P = .070).

The most common comorbidity of patients with CPA in IR was kidney disease, and the most patients who had CPA underwent dialysis access-related procedures.