Recognizing the causes of in-hospital cardiac arrest — A survival benefit

AbstractBackgroundThe in-hospital emergency team (ET) may or may not recognize the causes of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) during the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In a previous 4.5-year prospective study, this rate of recognition was found to be 66%. The aim of this study was to investigate whether survival improved if the cause of arrest was recognized by the ET.MethodsThe difference in survival if the causes were recognized versus not recognized was estimated after propensity score matching patients from these two groups.ResultsOverall survival to hospital discharge was 25%. After propensity score matching, the benefit of recognizing the cause regarding 1-hour survival of the episode was 29% (p