Characteristics and outcome among patients with a suspected in-hospital cardiac arrest

To describe the characteristics and outcome among patients with a suspected in-hospital cardiac arrest.

All the patients who suffered from a suspected in-hospital cardiac arrest during a 14-months period, where the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) team was called, were recorded and described prospectively in terms of characteristics and outcome.

There were 278 calls for the CPR team. Of these, 216 suffered a true cardiac arrest, 16 a respiratory arrest and 46 neither. The percentage of patients who were discharged alive from hospital was 42% for cardiac arrest patients, 62% for respiratory arrest and 87% for the remaining patients. Among patients with a cardiac arrest, those found in ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia had a survival rate of 64%, those found in asystole 24% and those found in pulseless electrical activity 10%. Among patients who were being monitored at the time of arrest, the survival rate was 52%, as compared with 27% for non-monitored patients (P= 0.001). Among survivors of cardiac arrest, a cerebral performance category (CPC) of 1 (no major deficit) was observed in 81% at discharge and in 82% on admission to hospital prior to the arrest.

We conclude that, during a 14-month period at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg, almost half the patients with a cardiac arrest in which the CPR team was called were discharged from hospital. Among survivors, 81% had a CPC score of 1 at hospital discharge. Survival seems to be closely related to the relative effectiveness of the resuscitation organisation in different parts of the hospital.