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Decision aid predicts non-survivors after cardiac arrest.

 

Decision aid predicts who might have a chance of survival following in-hospital arrest.
If unwitnessed arrest, not VT or VF, and no pulse within 10 min of resuscitation start, unlikely to survive.
Level 2b evidence.

 

Citation/s:Vaildation of a clinical decision aid to discontinue in-hospital cardiac resuscitation. JAMA 2001; 285: 1602-6.
 

Lead Author's name and fax: Carl van Walraven, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa. E-mail: carlv@lri.ca
 

Three-part Clinical Question: For hospital patients sustaining cardiac arrest, what factors during cardiopulmonary resuscitation predict hospital mortality or a low chance of survival (independent living)?
 

Search Terms: 1. heart arrest/ (1335), 2. cardiopulmonary resuscitation/ (1142), 3. hospital mortality/ (1939), 4. 1 and 2 and 3 (12), 5. diagnosis filter (430 187), 6. 4 and 5 (11)


The Study Patients: A validation study: secondary analysis of data on a resuscitation registry at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, USA.   25,000 admissions a year, standard AHA resuscitation protocols.   In-hospital arrests between 1987 and 1996. Code sheets completed following arrest.   Included pulseless arrests: VF, VT, EMD, asystole.   Excluded if: no chest compressions, information required by decision aid lacking, time to initial compression > 15min.
Independent, comparison with a reference (gold) standard (objective outcome); can't tell if this was blind.   There was an appropriate spectrum of patients.   The gold standard was applied regardless of the test result.

 

Target disorder and Gold Standard: Survival to hospital discharge
 

Diagnostic test: Decision aid: witnessed arrest (seen to lose pulse, or on ECG monitor in ICU, CCU or cath lab), VT or VF, or pulse within 10 min of resuscitation.

 

The Evidence:

 

Target Disorder: Survived to discharge

 

Test: Decision aid (≥ 1 feature)

Present

Absent

 

Test Result

Num

Prop

Num

Prop

Likelihood Ratios

Positive

324

a

1588

b

1.16

1.13 to 1.18T

Negative

3

c

266

d

0.06

0.02 to 0.20

Sensitivity: 99%; CI: 98 to 100

Specificity: 14%; CI: 13 to 16

Prevalence: 15%; CI: 13 to 16

Positive Predictive Value: 17%; CI: 15 to 19

Negative Predictive Value: 99%; CI: 98 to 100

 

Comments:
1.   Large resuscitation registry database.
2.   Decision aid defined in previous study:   Derivation of a clinical decision rule for the discontinuation of in-hospital cardiac arrest. Archives of Internal Medicine 1998; 158: 129 - 134.
3.   This decision aid showed all surviving patients had either witnessed arrest, or initial rhythm VT or VF, or pulse regained within 10 min of first chest compression.
4.   3 patients not fulfilling decision aid survived: one 76 y, dementia, COPD, BP, survived in poor condition (tracheostomy, gastrostomy, foley catheter, + rectal tube) died in 2 mths, one COPD alcohol cardiomyopathy discharged to nursing home, one 65 y required nursing home care for complications following surgery.
5.   An example of Sn N Out (tests of high Sensitivity, if Negative, rules Out outcome).
6.   In this example, if unwitnessed arrest, and not VT or VF, and no pulse within 10 min of resusctiation start, very likely not to survive to hospital discharge.

 

Appraised by: Malcolm Daniel, Department of Anaesthesia, Glasgow Royal Infirmary; Monday, October 01, 2001
 

Email: md23s@udcf.gla.ac.uk

 

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