[Documentation of in-hospital cardiac arrest].
BACKGROUND
Documentation of and staff compliance with guidelines during in-hospital cardiac arrest are very important. The purpose of the study is to clarify to what extent treatment of cardiac arrest was documented and whether the staff followed the hospital's protocol for cardiac arrest treatment in 2005.


METHODS
Medical records for 50 consecutive in-hospital cardiac arrests in 2005 were analysed and compared to 50 consecutive cardiac arrests in 2001. The hospital is a tertiary referral hospital with 1100 beds and all medical specialities available.


METHODS
All in-hospital cardiac arrest calls. Essential data for the in-hospital Utstein-style was used as the golden standard for documentation when reviewing medical records.


RESULTS
Results are expressed for 2005 (2001), Test: chi2 (Fisher). Treatment documented: Fully: 32 (22). (P=0.0704). Treatment complying with guidelines: Yes: 28. (P=0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage of hospital staff following the guidelines for cardiac arrest has improved significantly. The documentation of cardiac arrest as given in the medical records has not improved significantly. The reason is that the lack of data concerning the dosage of medication and/or dosage/number of shocks delivered is missing for about 1/3 of the cases.
Stagelund
Søren
S
Rigshospitalet, HovedOrtoCentret, Anaestesi- og Operationsklinikken, København Ø. stagelund@dadlnet.dk
Lippert
Freddy Knudsen
FK
D016507:Cardiology Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies