Evaluation of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for Patient Outcomes and their Predictors

Introduction: Cardiac arrest continues to be a common cause of in-hospital deaths. Even small improvements in survival can translate into thousands of lives saved every year. Aim: The aim of our prospective observational study was to elicit the outcomes and predictors of in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation among adult patients. Settings and Design: All in-hospital adult patients (age > 14) who suffered cardiac arrest & were attended by a Code Blue Team between 1st January 2012 & 30th April 2013 were part of the study. Materials and Methods: The cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was assessed in terms of: Response time, Presenting initial rhythm, Time to first defibrillation, Duration of CPR and Outcome (Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) at discharge). Statistical Analysis: Age, GOS and mean response time were analysed using t-test and ANOVA. Logistic regression was applied to determine the significance of the various factors in determining mortality. Results: ROSC was achieved in 44% of a total of 127 patients included in our study. Asystole/Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) was the most common presenting rhythm (87.5%). The survival to discharge was seen in 7.1% patients of whom only 3.9% patients had good neurological outcome. Regression and survival analysis depicted achievement of ROSC during CPR, absence of co-morbidities and shorter response time of code blue team as predictors of good outcome. Conclusion: We found poor outcome of CPR after in-hospital cardiac arrest. This was mainly attributed to an initial presenting rhythm of Asystole/PEA in most cases and delayed response times.