Mechanical versus manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): an umbrella review of contemporary systematic reviews and more.

BACKGROUND: High-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can restore spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and neurological function and save lives. We conducted an umbrella review, including previously published systematic reviews (SRs), that compared mechanical and manual CPR; after that, we performed a new SR of the original studies that were not included after the last published SR to provide a panoramic view of the existing evidence on the effectiveness of CPR methods. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Medline were searched, including English in-hospital (IHCA) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) SRs, and comparing mechanical versus manual CPR. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) and GRADE were used to assess the quality of included SRs/studies. We included both IHCA and OHCA, which compared mechanical and manual CPR. We analyzed at least one of the outcomes of interest, including ROSC, survival to hospital admission, survival to hospital discharge, 30-day survival, and survival to hospital discharge with good neurological function. Furthermore, subgroup analyses were performed for age, gender, initial rhythm, arrest location, and type of CPR devices. RESULTS: We identified 249 potentially relevant records, of which 238 were excluded. Eleven SRs were analyzed in the Umbrella review (January 2014-March 2022). Furthermore, for a new, additional SR, we identified eight eligible studies (not included in any prior SR) for an in-depth analysis between April 1, 2021, and February 15, 2024. The higher chances of using mechanical CPR for male patients were significantly observed in three studies. Two studies showed that younger patients received more mechanical treatment than older patients. However, studies did not comment on the outcomes based on the patient's gender or age. Most SRs and studies were of low to moderate quality. The pooled findings did not show the superiority of mechanical compared to manual CPR except in a few selected subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Given the significant heterogeneity and methodological limitations of the included studies and SRs, our findings do not provide definitive evidence to support the superiority of mechanical CPR over manual CPR. However, mechanical CPR can serve better where high-quality manual CPR cannot be performed in selected situations.

Identifying Risk Factors for Prolonged Length of Stay in Hospital and Developing Prediction Models for Patients with Cardiac Arrest Receiving Targeted Temperature Management.

Background: Prolonged length of stay (LOS) following targeted temperature management (TTM) administered after cardiac arrest may affect healthcare plans and expenditures. This study identified risk factors for prolonged LOS in patients with cardiac arrest receiving TTM and explored the association between LOS and neurological outcomes after TTM. Methods: The retrospective cohort consisted of 571 non-traumatic cardiac arrest patients aged 18 years or older, treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), had a Glasgow Coma Scale score < 8, or were unable to comply with commands after the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and received TTM less than 12 hours after ROSC. Prolonged LOS was defined as LOS beyond the 75th quartile of the entire cohort. We analyzed and compared relevant variables and neurological outcomes between the patients with and without prolonged LOS and established prediction models for estimating the risk of prolonged LOS. Results: The patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest had a longer LOS than those with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (p = 0.0001). Duration of CPR (p = 0.02), underlying heart failure (p = 0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.008), chronic kidney disease (p = 0.026), and post-TTM seizures (p = 0.003) were risk factors for prolonged LOS. LOS was associated with survival to hospital discharge, and patients with the lowest and highest Cerebral Performance Category scores at discharge had a shorter LOS. A logistic regression model based on parameters at discharge achieved an area under the curve of 0.840 to 0.896 for prolonged LOS prediction, indicating the favorable performance of this model in predicting LOS in patients receiving TTM. Conclusions: Our study identified clinically relevant risk factors for prolonged LOS following TTM and developed a prediction model that exhibited adequate predictive performance. The findings of this study broaden our understanding regarding factors associated with hospital stay and can be beneficial while making clinical decisions for patients with cardiac arrest who receive TTM.

Plasma neurofilament light is a predictor of neurological outcome 12 h after cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported high prognostic accuracy of circulating neurofilament light (NfL) at 24-72 h after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), but performance at earlier time points and after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is less investigated. We aimed to assess plasma NfL during the first 48 h after OHCA and IHCA to predict long-term outcomes. METHODS: Observational multicentre cohort study in adults admitted to intensive care after cardiac arrest. NfL was retrospectively analysed in plasma collected on admission to intensive care, 12 and 48 h after cardiac arrest. The outcome was assessed at two to six months using the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale, where CPC 1-2 was considered a good outcome and CPC 3-5 a poor outcome. Predictive performance was measured with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). RESULTS: Of 428 patients, 328 (77%) suffered OHCA and 100 (23%) IHCA. Poor outcome was found in 68% of OHCA and 55% of IHCA patients. The overall prognostic performance of NfL was excellent at 12 and 48 h after OHCA, with AUROCs of 0.93 and 0.97, respectively. The predictive ability was lower after IHCA than OHCA at 12 and 48 h, with AUROCs of 0.81 and 0.86 (p ≤ 0.03). AUROCs on admission were 0.77 and 0.67 after OHCA and IHCA, respectively. At 12 and 48 h after OHCA, high NfL levels predicted poor outcome at 95% specificity with 70 and 89% sensitivity, while low NfL levels predicted good outcome at 95% sensitivity with 71 and 74% specificity and negative predictive values of 86 and 88%. CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic accuracy of NfL for predicting good and poor outcomes is excellent as early as 12 h after OHCA. NfL is less reliable for the prediction of outcome after IHCA.

Development of early prediction model of in-hospital cardiac arrest based on laboratory parameters.

BACKGROUND: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is an acute disease with a high fatality rate that burdens individuals, society, and the economy. This study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model using routine laboratory parameters to predict the risk of IHCA in rescue-treated patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study examined all rescue-treated patients hospitalized at the First Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital in Beijing, China, from January 2016 to December 2020. Five machine learning algorithms, including support vector machine, random forest, extra trees classifier (ETC), decision tree, and logistic regression algorithms, were trained to develop models for predicting IHCA. We included blood counts, biochemical markers, and coagulation markers in the model development. We validated model performance using fivefold cross-validation and used the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) for model interpretation. RESULTS: A total of 11,308 participants were included in the study, of which 7779 patients remained. Among these patients, 1796 (23.09%) cases of IHCA occurred. Among five machine learning models for predicting IHCA, the ETC algorithm exhibited better performance, with an AUC of 0.920, compared with the other four machine learning models in the fivefold cross-validation. The SHAP showed that the top ten factors accounting for cardiac arrest in rescue-treated patients are prothrombin activity, platelets, hemoglobin, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, neutrophils, prothrombin time, serum albumin, sodium, activated partial thromboplastin time, and potassium. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a reliable machine learning-derived model that integrates readily available laboratory parameters to predict IHCA in patients treated with rescue therapy.

Non-beneficial resuscitation during inhospital cardiac arrests in a metropolitan teaching hospital.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing recognition that a proportion of hospitalised patients receive non-beneficial resuscitation, with the potential to cause harm. AIM: To describe the prevalence of non-beneficial resuscitation attempts in hospitalised patients and identify interventions that could be used to reduce these events. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all adult inhospital cardiac arrests (IHCA) receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a teaching hospital over 9 years. Demographics and arrest characteristics were obtained from a prospectively collected database. Non-beneficial CPR was defined as CPR being administered to patients who had a current not-for-resuscitation (NFR) order in place or who had a NFR order enacted on a previous hospital admission. Further antecedent factors and resuscitation characteristics were collected for these patients. RESULTS: There were 257 IHCA, of which 115 (44.7%) occurred on general wards, with 19.8% of all patients surviving to discharge home. There were 39 (15.2%) instances of non-beneficial CPR, of which 28 (72%) of 39 occurred in unmonitored patients on the ward comprising nearly one-quarter (28/115) of all arrests in this patient group. A specialist had reviewed 30 (76.9%) of 39 of these patients, and 33.3% (13/39) had a medical emergency team (MET) review prior to their arrest. CONCLUSIONS: Over one in seven resuscitation attempts were non-beneficial. MET reviews and specialist ward rounds provide opportunities to improve the documentation and visibility of NFR status.

Resuscitation outcomes of a wireless ECG telemonitoring system for cardiovascular ward patients experiencing in-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: In-hospital cardiac arrest is a serious issue for hospitalized patients. The documented initial rhythm and detected medical events have been reported to influence the survival of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This study aimed to identify the effect of continuous real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring on the prognosis of resuscitated patients in a general cardiac ward. METHODS: We conducted this retrospective study using medical records of hospitalized patients in a cardiovascular ward who experienced an in-hospital cardiac arrest and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation from February 2015 to December 2018. The patients who were considered to be at high risk of cardiac events such as ventricular arrhythmia would receive continuous ECG monitoring. A wireless ECG telemonitoring system was introduced to replace traditional bedside ECG monitors. The outcome measures were the initial success of resuscitation, 24-h survival after resuscitation, and survival to discharge. RESULTS: We enrolled 115 patients with a cardiac arrest during hospitalization, of whom 73 (63%) patients received wireless ECG telemonitoring. Patients receiving continuous ECG monitoring were associated with higher opportunities of initial success of resuscitation and 24-h survival after resuscitation (67.1% vs. 40.5%, p = 0.005; and 49.3% vs. 26.2%, p = 0.015, respectively) when comparing to the non-monitoring group; but no significant difference in survival to discharge (21.9% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.498) was observed. With adjustment of the covariates, the monitoring group was associated with a higher likelihood to reach the initial success of resuscitation (odds ratios [ORs], 3.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-9.98). However, the effect of monitoring on 24-h survival and survival to discharge was close to null after adjusting for covariates. CONCLUSION: A wireless ECG telemonitoring system were beneficial to the initial success of resuscitation for patients at high risk of cardiovascular events suffering an in-hospital cardiac arrest; but had less impact on 24-h survival and survival to discharge.

Association of extracerebral organ failure with 1-year survival and healthcare-associated costs after cardiac arrest: an observational database study.

BACKGROUND: Organ dysfunction is common after cardiac arrest and associated with worse short-term outcome, but its impact on long-term outcome and treatment costs is unknown. METHODS: We used nationwide registry data from the intensive care units (ICU) of the five Finnish university hospitals to evaluate the association of 24-h extracerebral Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (24h-EC-SOFA) score with 1-year survival and healthcare-associated costs after cardiac arrest. We included adult cardiac arrest patients treated in the participating ICUs between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013. We acquired the confirmed date of death from the Finnish Population Register Centre database and gross 1-year healthcare-associated costs from the hospital billing records and the database of the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. RESULTS: A total of 5814 patients were included in the study, and 2401 were alive 1 year after cardiac arrest. Median (interquartile range (IQR)) 24h-EC-SOFA score was 6 (5-8) in 1-year survivors and 7 (5-10) in non-survivors. In multivariate regression analysis, adjusting for age and prior independency in self-care, the 24h-EC-SOFA score had an odds ratio (OR) of 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-1.18) per point for 1-year mortality. Median (IQR) healthcare-associated costs in the year after cardiac arrest were €47,000 (€28,000-75,000) in 1-year survivors and €12,000 (€6600-25,000) in non-survivors. In a multivariate linear regression model adjusting for age and prior independency in self-care, an increase of one point in the 24h-EC-SOFA score was associated with an increase of €170 (95% CI €150-190) in the cost per day alive in the year after cardiac arrest. In the same model, an increase of one point in the 24h-EC-SOFA score was associated with an increase of €4400 (95% CI €3300-5500) in the total healthcare-associated costs in 1-year survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Extracerebral organ dysfunction is associated with long-term outcome and gross healthcare-associated costs of ICU-treated cardiac arrest patients. It should be considered when assessing interventions to improve outcomes and optimize the use of resources in these patients.

Preceding national early warnings scores among in-hospital cardiac arrests and their impact on survival.

OBJECTIVES: In-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) are often preceded by abnormal vital signs. Preceding abnormal vital signs might lower the physiological reserve capacity and therefore decrease survival after an IHCA. AIM: To assess the preceding national early warning score (NEWS) and its relation to survival after an IHCA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients ≥18years suffering an IHCA at Karolinska University Hospital between 1st January 2014 and 31st December 2015 were included. Data regarding the IHCA, patient characteristics, calculated NEWS and 30-day survival were obtained from electronic patient records. Parameters included in NEWSs were assessed up to 12h before the IHCA. Differences in survival were assessed with adjusted logistic regression models and presented as Odds Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals (OR, 95% CI) between patients with NEWSs of 0-4 points (low) versus those with at least 5 points (moderate) and 7 points (high). Adjustments included hospital site, sex, co-morbidities, first rhythm and location of the IHCA. RESULTS: In all, 358 patients suffered an IHCA, of whom 109 (30%) survived at least 30days and 296 (83%) had sufficient vital sign documentation to calculate NEWS before the IHCA. The 87 patients with a medium NEWS had a fourfold chance and those 78 with a high NEWS (22%) had an almost tenfold chance of dying after the IHCA compared to those with a low NEWS (Adjusted OR 4.43, 95% CI 1.81-10.83 and OR 9.88 95% C.I. 2.77-35.26, respectively). CONCLUSION: The NEWS can be a probable proxy for estimating physiological reserve capacity since high NEWS is associated to high change of death in case of an IHCA. This information can be used when discussing prognosis with patients and relatives. But even more importantly, it stresses the need for better preventive strategies in IHCAs. STRENGTHENS AND LIMITATIONS WITH THIS STUDY.

Oncogenic deletion mutants of gp130 signal from intracellular compartments.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and, hence, activation of the IL-6 receptor signalling subunit glycoprotein 130 (gp130; also known as interleukin-6 receptor subunit ß, IL6ST), has been linked to inflammation and tumour formation. Recently, deletion mutations in gp130 have been identified in inflammatory hepatocellular adenoma. The mutations clustered around one IL-6-binding epitope and rendered gp130 constitutively active in a ligand-independent manner. Here, we show that gp130 deletion mutants, but not wild-type gp130, localise predominantly to intracellular compartments, notably the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and early endosomes. One of the most frequent mutants, gp130 Y186-Y190del (ΔYY) is retained in the ER quality control system because of its association with the chaperone calnexin. Furthermore, we can show that gp130 ΔYY induces downstream signalling from both ER and endosomes, and that both signals contribute to ligand-independent cell proliferation. We also demonstrate that the endosomal localisation of gp130 ΔYY is crucial for fully fledged STAT3 activation. Therefore, aberrant signalling from intracellular compartments might explain the tumorigenic potential of naturally occurring somatic mutations of gp130.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Resource-limited Health Systems-Considerations for Training and Delivery.

In the past 50 years, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has gained widespread recognition as a life-saving skill that can be taught successfully to the general public. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be considered a cost-effective intervention that requires minimal classroom training and low-cost equipment and supplies; it is commonly taught throughout much of the developed world. But, the simplicity of CPR training and its access for the general public may be misleading, as outcomes for patients in cardiopulmonary arrest are poor and survival is dependent upon a comprehensive "chain-of-survival," which is something not achieved easily in resource-limited health care settings. In addition to the significant financial and physical resources needed to both train and develop basic CPR capabilities within a community, there is a range of ethical questions that should also be considered. This report describes some of the financial and ethical challenges that might result from CPR training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is determined that for many health care systems, CPR training may have financial and ethically-deleterious, unintended consequences. Evidence shows Basic Life Support (BLS) skills training in a community is an effective intervention to improve public health. But, health care systems with limited resources should include CPR training only after considering the full implications of that intervention.

Self-evaluation of ILCORs ten steps to improve around in-hospital cardiac arrests among Swedish hospitals.

Objectives: Recently, ILCOR unveiled the ground-breaking global initiative "Ten Steps Toward Improving In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest" (IHCA). Aim: To generate a baseline of how well the ten steps currently function in Sweden, in order to better target educational interventions. Material and methods: A survey was created using an online form application (Google Forms) and sent to CPR coordinators and physicians in charge of CPR at all 74 Swedish hospitals participating in the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCR). Hospitals were asked to self-evaluate their functionality on each step on a ten-point scale ranging from 1 "Not present or not functioning at all" to 10 "Very well-functioning". Data regarding number of IHCA and their survival during 2018-2022 was gathered from the SRCR. Results: A total of 34 out of 74 (46%) Swedish hospitals participated in the survey, collectively representing 59% (7,113 out of 12,070) of IHCA cases in SRCR. The responding hospitals were satisfied with the functionality of just over half of the steps currently (median 60%, range 30-90%). The steps with the highest proportion of satisfied hospitals were found for step 6-rapid response systems (85%) and 7-guideline-based resuscitation (94%), while the steps with lowest proportion of satisfied hospitals were found for step 4-goals of treatment (32%) and step 9-person centred culture (18%). About half of participating hospitals expressed intent to prioritise upcoming years' work on step 1- infrastructure, step 3- effective education and step 5- stop preventable IHCA. Conclusion: The conclusion is that most hospitals judge themselves to be well-functioning on many of the ten steps, but steps involving effective education might need attention, as well as the tolerance for presence of preventable IHCA being low.

Do-not-attempt resuscitation policy reduced in-hospital cardiac arrest rate and the cost of care in a developing country.

We aim to study the characteristics and outcomes of patients with a Do-Not-Attempt Resuscitation and to determine its impact on the Cost of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. A retrospective study of all adult patients admitted to the hospital from June 2021 to May 2022 who had a Do-Not-Resuscitate order. We abstracted patients' socio-demographics, physiologic parameters, primary diagnosis, and comorbidities from the electronic medical records. We calculated the potential economic cost using the median ICU length of stay for the admitted IHCA patients during the study period. There were 28,866 acute admissions over the study period, and 788 patients had DNR orders. The median (IQR) age was 71 (55-82) years, and 50.3% were males. The most prevalent primary diagnosis was sepsis, 426 (54.3%), and cancer was the most common comorbidity. More than one comorbidities were present in 642 (80%) of the cohort. Of the DNR patients, 492 (62.4%) died, while 296 (37.6%) survived to discharge. Cancer was the primary diagnosis in 65 (22.2%) of those who survived, compared with 154 (31.3%) of those who died (P = 0.002). Over the study period, 153 patients had IHCA and underwent CPR, with an IHCA rate of 5.3 per 1,000 hospital admissions. Without a DNR policy, an additional 492 patients with cardiac arrest would have had CPR, resulting in an IHCA rate of 22.3 per 1000 hospital admissions. Most DNR patients in our setting had sepsis complicated by multiple comorbidities. The DNR policy reduced our IHCA incidence by 76% and prevented unnecessary post-resuscitation ICU care.

Ten years of incident reports on in-hospital cardiac arrest - Are they useful for improvements?

Objectives: Staff in hospitals are encouraged to write up incident reports whenever they notice an incident. There are few published compilations of these reports from an in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) perspective. Aim: To describe content of incident reports over ten years in a two-sited university hospital in order to share knowledge and thereby being able to improve resuscitation systems in hospitals. Material and methods: All incident reports between 2010-June 2023 written at Karolinska University Hospital contain the words "CPR", "cardiac arrest", "resuscitation", Do-Not-attend-CPR" (DNACPR), "life-sustaining treatment" were included for analysis. Reports were grouped into larger themes. Results: In all 588 reports was identified automatically by the hospitals system based on the totally selected keywords. The largest category was "Life-sustaining treatment" with 178 (30%) reports and thereafter "Preventing care" (117, 20%) and "Material" (80, 14%). Conclusion: Our hospital has clearly valued incident reports as a mean to track on-going issues and serious events over time as well as a source to trigger educational interventions. To improve patient safety, a standardized approach for compilation of reports and actions would be helpful when sharing knowledge between hospitals and with the resuscitation community.

Do-not-attempt-resuscitation decision making: physicians' recommendations differ from the GO-FAR score predictions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is a major cause of mortality globally, and over 50% of the survivors will require institutional care as a result of poor neurological outcome. It is important that physicians discuss the likely outcome of resuscitation with patients and families during end-of-life discussions to help them with decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We aim to compare three consultants' do-not-resuscitate (DNR) decisions with the GO-FAR score predictions of the probability of survival with good neurological outcomes following in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). METHODS: This is a retrospective study of all patients 18 years or older placed on a DNR order by a consensus of three consultants in a tertiary institution in the United Arab Emirates over 12 months. Patients' socio-demographics and the GO-FAR variables were abstracted from the electronic medical records. We applied the GO-FAR score and the probability of survival with good neurological outcomes for each patient. RESULTS: A total of 788 patients received a DNR order, with a median age of 71 years and a majority being males and expatriates. The GO-FAR model categorized 441 (56%) of the patients as having a low or very low probability of survival and 347 (44%) as average or above. There were 219 patients with a primary diagnosis of cancer, of whom 148 (67.6%) were in the average and above-average probability groups. There were more In-hospital deaths among patients in the average and above-average probability of survival group compared with those with very low and low probability (243 (70%) versus 249 (56.5%) (P < 0.0001)). The DNR patients with an average or above average chance of survival by GO-FAR score were more likely to be expatriates, oncology patients, and did not have sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: The GO-FAR score provides a guide for joint decision-making on the possible outcomes of CPR in the event of IHCA. The physicians' recommendation and the ultimate patient's resuscitation choice may differ due to more complex contextual medico-social factors.

Neurological function before and after an in-hospital cardiac arrest - A nationwide registry-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: According to the Utstein Registry Template for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), a good neurological outcome is defined as either Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 1-2 at discharge from hospital or unchanged CPC compared to baseline. However, the latter alternative has rarely been described in IHCA. This study aimed to examine CPC at admission to hospital, the occurrence of post-arrest neurological deterioration, and the factors associated with such deterioration. METHODS: We studied adult IHCA survivors registered in the Swedish Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation between 2007 and 2022. The CPC was assessed based on information from admission and discharge from hospital. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and significance tests. RESULTS: One in ten IHCA had a CPC score > 1 at admission to hospital. Out of 7,677 IHCA who survived until hospital discharge and had full CPC data, 6,774 (88%) had preserved CPC, 150 (2%) had improved CPC, and 753 (10%) had deteriorated CPC. Among the factors significantly associated with deteriorated neurological function are IHCA in a general ward or intensive care unit, non-shockable rhythm, no ECG surveillance, and a higher proportion of intra-arrest and post-resuscitation treatments (all p-values < 0,05). CONCLUSION: Most patients had preserved neurological function compared to admission. Factors associated with deteriorated neurological function are mainly concordant with established risk factors for adverse outcomes and are primarily intra-arrest and post-resuscitation, making deterioration hard to predict. Further, every tenth survivor was admitted with CPC more than 1, stressing the use of unchanged CPC as an outcome in IHCA.

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: The race against time.

Objectives: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is increasingly used due to its beneficial outcomes and results compared to conventional CPR. Cardiac arrests can be categorized depending on location: in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Despite this distinction, studies comparing the two are scarce, especially in comparing outcomes after ECPR. This study compared patient characteristics, cardiac arrest characteristics, and outcomes. Methods: Between 2016 and 2022, patients who underwent ECPR for cardiac arrest at our institution were retrospectively analyzed, depending on the arrest location: IHCA and OHCA. We compared periprocedural characteristics and used multinomial regression analysis to indicate parameters contributing to a favorable outcome. Results: A total of n = 157 patients (100%) were analyzed (OHCA = 91; IHCA = 66). Upon admission, OHCA patients were younger (53.2 ± 12.4 vs. 59.2 ± 12.6 years) and predominantly male (91.1% vs. 66.7%, p=<0.001). The low-flow time was significantly shorter in IHCA patients (41.1 ± 27.4 mins) compared to OHCA (63.6 ± 25.1 mins). Despite this significant difference, in-hospital mortality was not significantly different in both groups (IHCA = 72.7% vs. OHCA = 76.9%, p = 0.31). Both groups' survival-to-discharge factors were CPR duration, low flow time, and lactate values upon ECMO initiation. Conclusion: Survival-to-discharge for ECPR in IHCA and OHCA was around 25%, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts. Factors predicting survival were lower lactate levels before cannulation and lower low-flow time. As such, OHCA patients seem to tolerate longer low-flow times and thus metabolic impairments compared to IHCA patients and may be considered for ECMO cannulation on a broader time span than IHCA.

The effect of hand and body position on chest compression quality and rescuer fatigue in prone cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the quality of compressions in supine cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and prone CPR by performing chest compressions on a manikin. Evaluating the effect of prone CPR using different hand and body position on the quality of manual chest compressions and fatigue of participants. Methods: After completing 2 min of chest compression in the supine position (Supine Group), 25 participants randomly performed three sets of 2-minutes chest compressions on a prone position manikin. Stand + hands overlapped Group: participants stood beside the patient bed with their hands overlapped and placed on the posterior segment of the thoracic spine between the scapulae, Straddle + hands separated Group: participants straddled the patient bed with their hands placed above the scapulae on both sides at the mid-chest level, and Straddle + hands overlapped Group: participants straddled the patient bed with their hands overlapping on the posterior segment of the thoracic spine between the scapulae. Subsequently, the quality of chest compressions and participants fatigue were assessed. Results: Chest compression depth ratio and mean chest compression depth (MCCD) were worse in the three prone CPR groups (Stand + hands overlapped Group: 0.0(0.0,15.6) %, 39.8 ± 1.3 mm; Straddle + hands separated Group: 1.4(0.0,11.7) %, 42.4 ± 1.2 mm; Straddle + hands overlapped Group: 0.0(0.0,9.2) %, 40.9 ± 1.2 mm) than in the Supine group (87.1(68.1,94.0) %; p < 0.001, 52.4 ± 0.4 mm; p < 0.001). In the three prone CPR groups, Straddle + hands separated Group had the greatest MCCD, lowest changes in heart rate (p = 0.018) and lowest changes in RPE scores (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the four groups in terms of mean chest compression rate, accurate chest compression rate ratio, or correct recoil ratio. Conclusion: This simulation-based study showed that the quality of chest compressions was worse in the prone position than in the supine position. When prone chest compressions were performed using different hand and body position, prone CPR performed by a participant straddling a hospital bed with hands placed above the scapula on either side at the mid-chest level provided higher-quality chest compressions and lower rescuer fatigue.

The Role of Different Feedback Devices in the Survival of Patients in Cardiac Arrest: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Background: Cardiac arrest is a critical condition affecting approximately 1 in every 1000 people in Europe. Feedback devices have been developed to enhance the quality of chest compressions during CPR, but their clinical impact remains uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the effect of feedback devices on key clinical outcomes in adult patients experiencing both out-of-hospital (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). The primary objective is to assess their impact on the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC); secondary objectives include the evaluation of neurological status and survival to discharge. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, utilizing databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. Studies published between 2000 and 2023 comparing CPR with and without the use of feedback devices were included. A fixed-effects network meta-analysis was performed for ROSC and survival, while a frequentist meta-analysis was conducted for neurological outcomes. Results: Twelve relevant studies met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis results showed that the use of audiovisual feedback devices significantly increases the likelihood of ROSC (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.41, p < 0.0001) and survival (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.27-1.81, p < 0.0001) compared to CPR without feedback. However, the effect of metronomes did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Feedback devices, particularly audiovisual ones, are associated with improved clinical outcomes in cardiac arrest patients. Their use should be encouraged in both training settings and real-life emergency scenarios to enhance survival rates and ROSC. However, further studies are needed to confirm long-term impacts and to explore the potential benefits of metronomes.

To withhold resuscitation - The Swedish system's rules and challenges.

The aim of this article is to describe current Swedish legalisation, clinical practice and future perspectives on the medical ethical decision "Do-Not-Attempt-Cardio-Pulmonary-Resuscitation" (DNACPR) in relation to prevent futile resuscitation of in-hospital cardiac arrests. Sweden has about 2200 in-hospital cardiac arrests yearly, with an overall 30-day survival ratio of 35%. This population is highly selected, although the frequency of DNACPR orders for hospitalized patients is unknown, resuscitation is initiated in only 6-13% of patients dying in Swedish hospitals. According to Swedish law and although shared decision making is sought, the physician is the ultimate decision-maker and consultation with the patient, her relatives and another licenced health care practitioner is mandatory. According to studies, these consultations is documented in only about 10% of the decisions. Clinicians lack tools to assess risk of IHCA, tools to predict outcome and we are not good at guessing patients own will. Future directives for clinical practice need to address difficulties for physicians in making decisions as well as the timing of decisions. We conclude that the principles in Swedish law needs to be fulfilled by a more systematic approach to documentation and planning of meetings between patients, relatives and colleagues.

Aetiology and outcome in hospitalized cardiac arrest patients.

Aims: To study aetiologies of in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) and their association with 30-day survival. Methods and results: Observational study with data from national registries. Specific aetiologies (n = 22) of IHCA patients between April 2018 and December 2020 were categorized into cardiac vs. non-cardiac and six main aetiology categories: myocardial ischemia, other cardiac causes, pulmonary causes, infection, haemorrhage, and other non-cardiac causes. Main endpoints were proportions in each aetiology, 30-day survival, and favourable neurological outcome (Cerebral Performance Category scale 1-2) at discharge. Among, 4320 included IHCA patients (median age 74 years, 63.1% were men), approximate 50% had cardiac causes with a 30-day survival of 48.4% compared to 18.7% among non-cardiac causes (P < 0.001). The proportion in each category were: myocardial ischemia 29.9%, pulmonary 21.4%, other cardiac causes 19.6%, other non-cardiac causes 11.6%, infection 9%, and haemorrhage 8.5%. The odds ratio (OR) for 30-day survival compared to myocardial ischemia for each category were: other cardiac causes OR 1.48 (CI 1.24-1.76); pulmonary causes OR 0.36 (CI 0.3-0.44); infection OR 0.25 (CI 0.18-0.33); haemorrhage OR 0.22 (CI 0.16-0.3); and other non-cardiac causes OR 0.56 (CI 0.45-0.69). IHCA caused by myocardial ischemia had the best favourable neurological outcome while those caused by infection had the lowest OR 0.06 (CI 0.03-0.13). Conclusion: In this nationwide observational study, aetiologies with cardiac and non-cardiac causes of IHCA were evenly distributed. IHCA caused by myocardial ischemia and other cardiac causes had the strongest associations with 30-day survival and neurological outcome.