The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Definition of Failure to Rescue Should Consider Including Cardiac Arrest

Failure to rescue (FTR) is a new quality measure in The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. The STS defines FTR as death after permanent stroke, renal failure, reoperation, or prolonged ventilation. Our objective was to assess whether cardiac arrest should be included in this definition.

Patients undergoing an STS index operation in a regional collaborative (2011-2021) were included. The performance of the STS definition of FTR was compared with a definition that included the STS complications plus cardiac arrest (STS+). Centers were grouped into FTR rate terciles using the STS and STS+ definitions of FTR, and changes in their relative performance rating were assessed.

A total of 43,641 patients were included across 17 centers. Cardiac arrest was the most lethal complication: 55.0% of patients who experienced cardiac arrest died. FTR after any complication (13 total) occurred among 884 patients. The STS definition of FTR accounted for 83% (735 of 884) of all FTR. The addition of cardiac arrest to the STS definition significantly increased the proportion of overall FTR accounted for (92.2% [815 of 884]; P < .001). Choice of FTR definition led to substantial differences in center-level relative performance rating by FTR rate.

Mortality after cardiac arrest is not completely captured by the STS definition of FTR and represents an important source of potentially preventable death after cardiac surgery. Future quality improvement efforts using the STS definition of FTR should account for this.