Coronary Artery Disease
Prediction of Death and Neurologic Outcome in the Emergency Department in Out - of - Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survivors

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9149(97)00798-4Get rights and content

Abstract

We reviewed the hospital records of 127 consecutive patients who were resuscitated from cardiac arrest in a retrospective cohort analysis. A cardiac arrest score utilizing time to return of spontaneous circulation, systolic blood pressure at the time of presentation, and initial neurologic exam were calculated. This score was analyzed with 39 other clinical variables for significance with regard to mortality or neurologic survival using multivariate analysis. Combining these variables into a cardiac arrest score (levels 0, 1, 2, 3, from least to most favorable) allowed prediction of neurologic outcomes and mortality from a single variable in an independent fashion (p <0.0001). Logistic regression models found scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 predicted in-hospital mortality rates of 90%, 71%, 42%, 18%, and neurologic recovery in 3%, 17%, 57%, and 89%, respectively. The cardiac arrest score was able to predict in-hospital mortality and neurologic outcomes in those who survived to emergency department arrival. This scoring scheme may aide in selection of patients for early aggressive measures, including triage coronary angiography and angio-plasty.

Section snippets

Methods

A retrospective cohort of 127 cardiac arrest survivors who were successfully resuscitated and admitted to William Beaumont Hospital between January 1989 and January 1996 was identified from a prospective database of all emergency room admissions. Complete medical records were available and reviewed in all patients. All arrests were witnessed and had the event attributed to primary cardiac etiology. Cardiopulmonary arrests due to factors other than primary cardiac etiology (i.e., respiratory

Baseline Characteristics:

Mean age was 69 ± 12 years (range of 38 to 93). Eighty-four patients (66%) were men and 43 (34%) were women. Both male and female median ages were 69. Tobacco abuse was recorded in 40 patients (32%), systemic hypertension in 64 (50%), diabetes mellitus in 27 patients (21%), and dyslipidemia in 23 (18%). Prior evidence of myocardial infarction (as determined by the presence of Q waves on electrocardiography or by echocardiographic features) was found in 50 patients (39%). A history of congestive

Discussion

Coronary artery disease has a predominant role in cardiac arrest,16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and primary angioplasty has become a proven mode of therapy for acute myocardial infarction.[24] Recently, immediate coronary intervention has been shown to be a potential option in those with cardiac arrest due to acute myocardial infarction.[7] To date, no study has demonstrated a survival benefit of early intervention in cardiac arrest survivors. A survival advantage attributable to immediate

References (30)

  • RJ Myerburg et al.

    Sudden cardiac deathepidemiology, transient risk, and interventional assessment

    Ann Intern Med

    (1993)
  • JL Hurwitz et al.

    Sudden cardiac in patients with chronic coronary heart disease

    Circulation

    (1993)
  • AJ Rabinowitz et al.

    Survivors of sudden cardiac deatha rational approach to evaluation and therapy of patients surviving ventricular fibrillation

    Clev Clin J Med

    (1992)
  • RS Baum et al.

    Survival after resuscitation from out of hospital ventricular fibrillation

    Circulation

    (1974)
  • WA Gray et al.

    Unsuccessful emergency medical resuscitation—are continued efforts in the emergency room justified?

    N Engl J Med

    (1991)
  • Cited by (31)

    • Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A systematic review of current risk scores to predict survival

      2021, American Heart Journal
      Citation Excerpt :

      We were unable to identify any subsequent validation. This score was derived from 127 patients with witnessed OHCA secondary to a cardiac cause.13 This score uses a combination of arrest characteristics with initial blood pressure and neurological status.

    • Usefulness of the NULL-PLEASE Score to Predict Survival in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

      2020, American Journal of Medicine
      Citation Excerpt :

      The Prediction Tool is also complex and cumbersome to calculate, and not externally validated.9 Some scores have been evaluated only in small cohorts,6,10 some not prospectively assessed,7,8,10 some not externally or prospectively validated,8-12 and some only predict survival to 1 month, but not in the hospital setting.6,9-11 There is, therefore, an urgent, unmet need for a simple, easy-to-use clinical scoring system to predict survival to hospital discharge, with high sensitivity and specificity.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text