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Prevalence and related factors of do-not-resuscitate orders among in-hospital cardiac arrest patients
Tangxing Jiang1, Yanyan Ma1, Jiaqi Zheng1
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China; Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Institute of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine of Shandong University, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China; Key Laboratory of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine of Shandong Province, Key Laboratory of Cardiopulmonary-Cerebral Resuscitation Research of Shandong Province, Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China; The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education, Chinese Ministry of Health and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; The State and Shandong Province Joint Key Laboratory of Translational Cardiovascular Medicine; Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Insights
The do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order signing rate is low in mainland China. Factors like older age, female sex, and certain medical conditions influence DNR establishment among in-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Critical Care Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Studies on do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in mainland China are limited.
- Understanding DNR prevalence and influencing factors is crucial for end-of-life care planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the prevalence and associated factors of DNR orders in patients experiencing in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in mainland China.
- To provide insights into DNR decision-making within a tertiary hospital setting.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 1154 IHCA patients from July 2019 to September 2020.
- Data collection on DNR status from medical records.
- Logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with DNR order establishment.
Main Results:
- 46.4% of IHCA patients had DNR orders.
- Factors associated with higher DNR rates included female sex, older age, local residency, pulmonary infection, respiratory insufficiency, shock, acute stroke, neurological dysfunction, and cancer.
- New-onset coronary artery disease was associated with a lower likelihood of DNR orders.
Conclusions:
- The rate of DNR order signing in mainland China is low.
- Demographic characteristics and comorbidities significantly influence the establishment of DNR orders among IHCA patients.
Purpose:
Studies concerning do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in mainland China are rather scarce. We explored the prevalence and related factors of DNR orders among in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) patients at a general tertiary hospital in mainland China.
Materials And Methods:
We identified all IHCA patients hospital-wide between July 2019 and September 2020. Data regarding DNR status were collected from medical records. We investigated the frequency of DNR orders and explored the determinant factors of DNR establishment using logistic regression.
Results:
A total of 1154 IHCA patients were included, 535 (46.4%) of whom established DNR orders. The following variables were independently associated with a higher DNR rate: female (OR 1.491; 95% CI 1.130-1.965), older age (OR 1.016; 95% CI 1.008-1.024), being a local resident (OR 1.790; 95% CI 1.344-2.383), pulmonary infection (OR 1.398; 95% CI 1052-1.859), respiratory insufficiency (OR 1.356; 95% CI 1.009-1.823), shock (OR 1.735; 95% CI 1.301-2.313), acute stroke (OR 1.821; 95% CI 1.235-2.686),neurological dysfunction (OR 1.527; 95% CI 1.149-2.028) and cancer (OR 3.316; 95% CI 2.461-4.468). Counterintuitively, patients with new-onset coronary artery disease (OR 0.592; 95% CI 0.419-0.837) were less likely to create DNR orders.
Conclusion:
In mainland China, the DNR order signing rate is low, and the establishment of a DNR order is associated with demographics and comorbidity characteristics.
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