Factors Associated with Survival from In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the Service Wards and Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Background. Despite the recent advances in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), there has been no significant improvement in survival among patients who undergo cardiac arrest. To date, there are no local guidelines on the requirements or standards of in-hospital cardiac arrest teams in the Philippines. In addition, there are still no studies on the outcomes of cardiac arrests among adult patients in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines.

Objectives. The objective of this study is to investigate patient-, event-, and hospital-related factors associated with survival among adult patients who underwent in-hospital cardiac arrest in the service wards and intensive care units of a tertiary hospital.

Methods. This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted over three months in 2018. Patient-, event- and hospital-related data were collected from each patient with a cardiac arrest event who was referred to the cardiac arrest teams based on the modified Utstein form of reporting cardiac arrests. Survival to discharge from cardiac arrest was the main outcome.

Results. The study included 119 patients, 47.9% male, with a mean age of 50.1 years (SD 16.7). Survival rate was 6.7%. The mean response time did not differ between survival group (1.46 minutes) and mortality group (1.82 minutes) (p value = 0.26). The presence of a shockable initial rhythm (3.6% vs 3/8; p value = 0.01), shorter lag time to initiation of electrical therapy (6.0 vs 9.3 ± 5.6 min; p value = 0.02), shorter time to establishment of an airway (2.75 ± 1.6 vs. 6.98 ± 5.2 min; p value = 0.01), and shorter duration of resuscitation (7 ± 4.6 vs. 13.0 ± 7.9 min; p value = 0.01) were significantly associated with survival. The presence of underlying illnesses is associated with higher mortality. The most common hospital-related problems identified were the need to cover long distances, delay in the call, and the lack of elevators.

Conclusion. The survival rate of patients who underwent cardiac arrest and resuscitation by a cardiac arrest team is low. The initial presenting rhythm, lag time to initiation of electrical therapy, time to establishment of airway, duration of resuscitation, as well as the underlying disease can significantly affect survival. Streamlining the resources of the hospital to address these matters can have an impact on survival.