Jan. 9, 2006
From: Daniel Stolte,
Darci Slaten, Steele Children's
Research Center, (520) 626-7217,
Children are more likely to survive in-hospital cardiac
arrests than adults and with appropriate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),
the survival rates for both children and adults are higher than previously
thought. These are some of the findings of the largest-ever study of cardiac
arrests occurring in hospitals. The study was supervised by Robert A. Berg, MD, professor of pediatrics
and associate dean at The
"This is a landmark study that will change our
understanding of the causes for cardiac arrests in hospitals and how to treat
them," said Dr. Berg, a member of UA's
Sarver Heart Center and
UA's Steele Children's
In contrast to previous studies, which compiled data
from a single or relatively few hospitals, the new research is based on data
from the National Registry of CPR including 37,000 adults and 880 children who
had pulse less cardiac arrests in the hospital. The National Registry of CPR was
developed by the American Heart Association to compile comprehensive and
accurate information about in-hospital cardiac arrests. The investigators
collected data from 253 hospitals in the
"For the first time, we have data representing all of
the
The study results, published in the Jan. 4 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical
Association, send a
hopeful message. With appropriate interventions, more than 27 percent of the
children and more than 18 percent of the adults who had pulse less cardiac
arrest survived to hospital discharge, mostly with good neurological outcomes.
"Nobody ever imagined that such a high percentage of
lifeless children could be successfully resuscitated and leave the hospital
alive," Dr. Berg said.
"These survival rates are much better than those
occurring in cardiac arrests outside of hospitals," said Vinay Nadkarni, MD, a critical care
specialist at the Children's
The American Heart Association recently issued new
guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care. Broad-based comprehensive
studies through the National Registry of CPR will provide important information
for future guidelines, especially with regard to in-hospital cardiac arrests.
The Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee of the American Heart Association
and the Endowed Chair of Pediatric Critical Care at The Children's
The 11 co-authors, writing for the National Registry of
CPR Investigators, were from nine hospitals and research institutions and
represented the research committee of the Scientific Advisory Board of the
registry.
"The National Registry of CPR will allow us to track
possible improvements in patient outcomes stemming from the new guidelines, and
should help us to refine future revisions to AHA guidelines," said Dr. Berg, who
chairs the research committee.
By better understanding ways in which children with
in-hospital cardiac arrest may sometimes resemble and sometimes differ from
adults, practitioners may be able to better refine emergency cardiovascular care
and develop treatment procedures that improve outcomes for all patients.
Reference:
First Documented Rhythm and Clinical Outcome From
In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Among Children and Adults. JAMA, Jan. 4, 2006 -- Vol.
295, No. 1, pp.1-8
Websites:
Sarver Heart
Center:http://heart.arizona.edu
Steele
Children's Research Center:
http://www.steelecenter.arizona.edu
American Heart
Association: http://www.americanheart.org
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