In-hospital cardiac arrest - A three-year Utstein- style report from a tertiary care centre in Poland

To evaluate the epidemiology, management and outcomes of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in a tertiary care centre in Poland, using a Utstein-style report.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on IHCAs between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024. Adult patients with confirmed cardiac arrest who received chest compressions and/or defibrillation were included. Key outcomes included patient and IHCA characteristics, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rate and 30-day/discharge survival, including neurological outcome. Logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with survival.

A total of 460 IHCAs were recorded over the 3-year period, corresponding to 2.5 events per 1000 hospital admissions. Median patient age was 73 years. The first documented rhythm was non-shockable in 88.5 % of events, while shockable rhythms were observed in 11.5 %. ROSC was achieved in 48.7 % of cases. Overall 30-day survival was 14.6 %. 66.7 % of survivors had a Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 1-2, 33.3 % were CPC 3-4.

In this Utstein-style report of IHCA we found similar results to those reported in other European reports of incidence and overall survival of IHCA. However, in our study a substantial proportion of survivors had poor neurological outcome. Our findings highlight the importance of systematic data collection and the creation of a national IHCA registry in Poland to enable benchmarking and drive quality improvement.