Risk indicators for, and symptoms associated with, death among patients hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
BACKGROUND
An increasing proportion of patients who have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are initially successfully resuscitated and thus hospitalized.


OBJECTIVE
To define risk indicators for, and to describe the mode of, in-hospital death among patients hospitalized after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.


METHODS
Göteborg, Sweden.


METHODS
All patients hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between 1980 and 1992.


RESULTS
A total of 707 out of 3434 patients were hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, of whom 278 (39%) were discharged alive. Independent risk indicators for in-hospital death were: type of initial arrhythmia on the scene, age, interval between cardiac arrest and arrival of first ambulance, bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and history of diabetes mellitus. Of the patients who died in hospital, 88% had brain damage and 43% myocardial damage.


CONCLUSIONS
Risk indicators for hospital death can be defined. The majority of in-hospital deaths were associated with brain damage.
Herlitz
J
J
Division of Cardiology, Sahlgrenska Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
Ekström
L
L
Wennerblom
B
B
Axelsson
A
A
Bång
A
A
Holmberg
S
S
D000368:Aged; D000552:Ambulances; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D002423:Cause of Death; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology