Effects of Delayed Defibrillation After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Registry data suggest that one third of the patients who would benefit most are not receiving timely defibrillation.

In the U.S., in-hospital cardiac arrest occurs about twice as often as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and is associated with poor survival rates. Current recommendations for cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) call for defibrillation within 2 minutes. To explore how often such timely therapy actually occurs and the possible negative effects of delayed defibrillation on clinical outcomes, investigators studied data on hospitalized adult patients with cardiac arrest due to VF or pulseless VT from the American Heart Association National Registry of CardioPulmonary Resuscitation.

Of 6789 patients in 369 U.S. hospitals included in the analysis, 34.1% survived to hospital discharge. Althoug…

Reviewing Author

Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBristol Myers Squibb; CPC Clinical Research

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology (Chair, Innovations Committee)

Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBristol Myers Squibb; CPC Clinical Research

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology (Chair, Innovations Committee)