Age, sex, and hospital factors are associated with the duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in hospitalized patients who do not experience sustained return of spontaneous circulation.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Variability in the duration of attempted in­hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is high, but the factors influencing termination of CPR efforts are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the association between patient and hospital characteristics and CPR duration in 45 500 victims of in­hospital cardiac arrest who did not experience return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and who were enrolled in the Get With the Guidelines registry between 2001 and 2010. In a secondary analysis, we performed analyses in 46 168 victims of in­hospital cardiac arrest who experienced ROSC. We used ordered logistic regression to identify factors associated with CPR duration. Analyses were conducted by tertile of CPR duration (tertiles ROSC group 2 to 7, 8 to 17, and 18 to 120 minutes; no­ROSC group 2 to 16, 17 to 26, 27 to 120 minutes). In those without ROSC, younger age (aged 18 to 40 versus >65 years; odds ratio [OR] 1.81; 95% CI 1.69 to 1.95; P<0.001), female sex (OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.09; P=0.005), ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.42 to 1.58; P<0.001), and the need to place an invasive airway (OR 2.59; 95% CI 2.46 to 2.72; P<0.001) were associated with longer CPR duration. In those with ROSC, ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.85 to 0.93; P<0.001) and witnessed events (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.82 to 0.91; P<0.001) were associated with shorter duration. CONCLUSIONS: Age and sex were associated with attempted CPR duration in patients who do not experience ROSC after in­hospital cardiac arrest but not in those who experience ROSC. Understanding the mechanism of these interactions may help explain variability in outcomes for in­hospital cardiac arrest.