Prevalence, Outcomes, and Risk Factors for Cardiorespiratory Arrest in the Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study

Abstract

Background: Cardiorespiratory arrest is defined as an abrupt halt in the cardiac mechanical activity that is accompanied by the loss of a detectable pulse, the cessation of breathing, and the loss of consciousness. The aim of this study is to create a clinical-epidemiological profile of patients who experienced cardiorespiratory arrest and were admitted to the intensive care unit to evaluate the associated factors and their impact on the prognosis of these patients.

Patients and methods: From January to December 2019, the medical records of 135 patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation were reviewed for this cross-sectional observational study. The information was collected according to the Utstein model.

Results: A low return of spontaneous circulation of 22.2% was observed, with a predominance of females (53.3%) and older patients (68.9%), multiple comorbidities at admission (68.4%), and asystole as the predominant rhythm. Female sex and age >60 years were statistically significant (p = 0.017), as was the association between sex and comorbidities (p = 0.036), with heart disease being the most prevalent in females (p = 0.036).

Conclusion: In this study, even though the resuscitation maneuver time (start of resuscitation following arrest) was very short and the defibrillation was performed promptly, there was a high prevalence of cardiac arrest and low survival rates after cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

How to cite this article: Menezes da Silva A, Braga AL, Cruvinel de Souza V. Prevalence, Outcomes, and Risk Factors for Cardiorespiratory Arrest in the Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(6):704-709.

Keywords: Advanced critical care practitioner; Cardiac arrest; Cardiac massage; Cardiopulmonary arrest; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Case-control study; Epidemiological factors; Intensive care unit.