Night and Day: Differences in Survival of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Authors of a recent study identified a high frequency of delays in defibrillation after in-hospital cardiac arrest and described the adverse effects of such delays on patient outcomes (Journal Watch Cardiology Jan 2 2008). Now, using data from the same national registry, other investigators have determined whether the time of day and day of week of in-hospital cardiac arrests affect patient outcomes.

The study included 86,748 events at 507 hospitals from January 2000 through January 2007. Patients whose arrests occurred during the daytime or evening (7:00 am–10:59 pm) on weekdays had a significantly higher rate of survival to discharge than those whose arrests occurred at night (11:00 pm–6:59 am; adjusted odds ratio, 1.18). They were also si…