Implementation of a Multidisciplinary Cardiogenic Shock Team in a Nonacademic Canadian Heart Centre: An...

In this study we evaluated our ability to implement team-based cardiogenic shock (CS-Team), focussing on: 1) early screening; 2) CS-Team activation; and 3) use of invasive monitoring to guide therapy.

All patients admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) over 12 months were screened for CS. A diagnosis of CS was made when both hypotension and hypoperfusion were present. The CS-Team was composed of the CCU attending, an interventional cardiologist, and a cardiac surgeon. Multivariate analysis was carried out with mortality as the outcome of interest.

Screening was documented in 74% (1160 of 1562) of patients admitted to a critical care unit; of these, 1080 were not in CS. We identified 80 patients in CS (Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions [SCAI] stages C-E), which represented 6.9% of all screened patients. Patients in CS had significantly higher in-hospital mortality (35% vs 2%, P < 0.0001). CS-Team was activated in 35 of 80 patients (44%). CS-Team activation resulted in significantly greater use of invasive monitoring (pulmonary artery catheter [49% vs 7%, P < 0.0001], cardiac catheterization [94% vs 76%, P < 0.032], and mechanical circulatory support [51% vs 2%, P < 0.001]). Independent predictors of mortality were severity of CS (SCAI grades D or E) (odds ratio [OR] 18.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.89-96.65) and age, in years (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.14), whereas CS-Team was not predictive of mortality (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.16-2.41).

We found that: 1) early screening by frontline staff was feasible but had limitations (26% screening failure); 2) CS-Team activation appeared discretionary (limited activation to 45% of patients); and 3) CS-Team activation resulted in a significant increase in the use of invasive monitoring that helped guide therapy.