Deviations from AHA guidelines during pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation are associated with decreased event

Heather A Wolfe1, Ryan W Morgan1, Bingqing Zhang1

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Resuscitation
|February 15, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Deviations from resuscitation guidelines were common in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). While circulation deviations (C-DEVs) did not impact survival, they were linked to lower rates of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric critical care medicine
  • Resuscitation science
  • Clinical quality improvement

Background:

  • Deviations (DEVs) from established resuscitation guidelines are linked to poorer outcomes in adult in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA).
  • The impact of these deviations on outcomes in pediatric IHCA remains largely unknown.
  • Understanding these deviations is crucial for improving pediatric resuscitation protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between deviations from resuscitation guidelines and outcomes in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest.
  • To specifically examine the impact of circulation deviations (C-DEVs) on return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to hospital discharge.
  • To analyze data from a large, prospectively collected registry to assess these associations.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study using data from the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry (2000-2014).
  • Included children with index IHCA of at least 1 minute.
  • Defined a composite measure, circulation DEV (C-DEV), encompassing deviations in medications, defibrillation, vascular access, or chest compressions; analyzed using mixed-effect models and propensity score matching.

Main Results:

  • Deviations were reported in 17.0% of 7078 pediatric IHCA events; airway and medication deviations were most common.
  • Before matching, C-DEVs were associated with decreased ROSC and survival to hospital discharge.
  • In the propensity-matched cohort, C-DEVs were associated with decreased ROSC (aOR 0.76) but showed no significant association with survival to hospital discharge (aOR 1.01).

Conclusions:

  • Deviations from resuscitation guidelines are frequent in pediatric IHCA.
  • In a propensity-matched analysis, circulation deviations (C-DEVs) were linked to reduced likelihood of achieving ROSC.
  • Despite the association with ROSC, C-DEVs did not significantly affect survival to hospital discharge in the matched pediatric IHCA cohort.
Abstract

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