Prevalence of 'do not attempt resuscitation' orders and living wills among patients suffering cardiac arrest in four secondary hospitals

[Adult advanced life support]

These European Resuscitation Council Advanced Life Support guidelines are based on the 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Science with Treatment Recommendations. This section provides guidelines on the prevention of and ALS treatments for both in-hospital cardiac arrest and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: Adult advanced life support

These European Resuscitation Council Advanced Life Support guidelines, are based on the 2020 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Science with Treatment Recommendations. This section provides guidelines on the prevention of and ALS treatments for both in-hospital cardiac arrest and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Prearrest prediction of favourable neurological survival following in-hospital cardiac arrest: The Prediction of outcome for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (PIHCA) score

BACKGROUND

A prearrest prediction tool can aid clinicians in consolidating objective findings with clinical judgement and in balance with the values of the patient be a part of the decision process for do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) orders. A previous prearrest prediction tool for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) have not performed satisfactory in external validation in a Swedish cohort. Therefore our aim was to develop a prediction model for the Swedish setting.

METHODS

Model development was based on previous external validation of The Good Outcome Following Attempted Resuscitation (GO-FAR) score, with 717 adult IHCAs. It included redefinition and reduction of predictors, and addition of chronic comorbidity, to create a full model of 9 predictors. Outcome was favourable neurological survival defined as Cerebral Performance Category score 1-2  at discharge. The likelihood of favourable neurological survival was categorised into very low (<1%), low (1-3%) and above low (>3%).

RESULTS

We called the model the Prediction of outcome for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (PIHCA) score. The AUROC was 0.808 (95% CI 0.807-0.810) and calibration was satisfactory. With a cutoff of 3% likelihood of favourable neurological survival sensitivity was 99.4% and specificity 8.4%. Although specificity was limited, predictive value for classification into ≤3% likelihood of favorable neurological survival was high (97.4%) and false classification into ≤3% likelihood of favourable neurological survival was low (0.6%).

CONCLUSION

The PIHCA score has the potential to be used as an objective tool in prearrest prediction of outcome after IHCA, as part of the decision process for a DNAR order.

The Quality of End-of-Life Care after Limitations of Medical Treatment as Defined by a Rapid Response Team: A Retrospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Despite the increase in the identification of patients at the end of life after the introduction of rapid response team (RRT), there is doubt as to whether there has been an improvement in the quality of care offered to these patients. Proper end-of-life care is the next expected step after identifying patients who are dying.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the end-of-life care after limitations of medical treatment (LOMTs) as defined by an RRT.

DESIGN

This is a single-center retrospective cohort study at a tertiary teaching hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from July 2014 to July 2016.

SETTING/SUBJECTS

We included 242 patients with an LOMT as defined by the RRT.

MEASUREMENTS

Outcomes of interest included symptoms and palliative measures after RRT review.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 5396 calls to 2937 patients, representing 126 calls per 1000 hospital discharges. Of these calls, 4.9% (n = 242) resulted in an LOMT. The primary care team agreed with the LOMT decision proposed by the RRT in 91.7% of cases. Regarding end-of-life symptoms, 7.4% and 5.8% of patients presented with intense or moderate pain, respectively, and 62.4% of patients presented dyspnea in the last 48 hours of hospitalization. Less than 15% of patients received attention for their spiritual needs and/or received psychological support.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data reinforce the important role of RRTs in the identification of end-of-life patients with clinical deterioration. Despite the increase in the identification of these patients, the quality of end-of-life care needs to be improved.

A randomized trial of continuous versus interrupted chest compressions in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: rationale for and design of the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Continuous Chest Compressions Trial

The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium is conducting a randomized trial comparing survival with hospital discharge after continuous chest compressions without interruption for ventilation versus currently recommended American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation with interrupted chest compressions in adult patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest without obvious trauma or respiratory cause. Emergency medical services perform study cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 3 intervals of manual chest compressions (each ~2 minutes) or until restoration of spontaneous circulation. Patients randomized to the continuous chest compression intervention receive 200 chest compressions with positive pressure ventilations at a rate of 10/min without interruption in compressions. Those randomized to the interrupted chest compression study arm receive chest compressions interrupted for positive pressure ventilations at a compression:ventilation ratio of 30:2. In either group, each interval of compressions is followed by rhythm analysis and defibrillation as required. Insertion of an advanced airway is deferred for the first ≥6 minutes to reduce interruptions in either study arm. The study uses a cluster randomized design with every-6-month crossovers. The primary outcome is survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes are neurologically intact survival and adverse events. A maximum of 23,600 patients (11,800 per group) enrolled during the post-run-in phase of the study will provide ≥90% power to detect a relative change of 16% in the rate of survival to discharge, 8.1% to 9.4% with overall significance level of 0.05. If this trial demonstrates improved survival with either strategy, >3,000 premature deaths from cardiac arrest would be averted annually.

Cardiac arrest outside and inside hospital in a community: mechanisms behind the differences in outcome and outcome in relation to time of arrest

BACKGROUND

The aim was to compare characteristics and outcome after cardiac arrest where cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted outside and inside hospital over 12 years.

METHODS

All out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in Göteborg between 1994 and 2006 and all in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) in 1 of the city's 2 hospitals for whom the rescue team was called between 1994 and 2006 were included in the survey.

RESULTS

The study included 2,984 cases of OHCA and 1,478 cases of IHCA. Patients with OHCA differed from those with an IHCA; they were younger, included fewer women, were less frequently found in ventricular fibrillation, and were treated later. If patients were found in a shockable rhythm, survival to 1 month/discharge was 18% after OHCA and 61% after IHCA (P < .0001). Corresponding values for a nonshockable rhythm were 3% and 21% (P < .0001). Survival was higher on daytime and weekdays as compared with nighttime and weekends after IHCA but not after OHCA. Among patients found in a shockable rhythm, a multivariate analysis considering age, gender, witnessed status, delay to defibrillation, time of day, day of week, and location showed that IHCA was associated with increased survival compared with OHCA (adjusted odds ratio 3.18, 95% CI 2.07-4.88).

CONCLUSION

Compared with OHCA, the survival of patients with IHCA increased 3-fold for shockable rhythm and 7-fold for nonshockable rhythm in our practice setting. If patients were found in a shockable rhythm, the higher survival after IHCA was only partly explained by a shorter treatment delay. The time and day of CA were associated with survival in IHCA but not OHCA.

“Not‐for‐resuscitation” orders in Australian public hospitals: policies, standardised order forms and patient information leaflets

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and content of policies, standardised order forms (SOFs) and patient information leaflets (PILs) pertaining to "not-for-resuscitation" (NFR) orders in Australian public hospitals.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Cross-sectional postal survey conducted across Australia from August to December 2005, using a one-page questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS

Directors of Medical, Nursing or Clinical Services of all public hospitals in Australia with 60 or more beds, excluding psychiatric, military and private hospitals.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Prevalence of documented NFR policies, by hospital characteristics, and content of these policies, SOFs and PILs.

RESULTS

222 hospitals were surveyed, and 157 responded (71%). Of these, 85 (54%) had NFR policies, 62 (39%) had SOFs, and four (3%) had PILs. Hospitals with more than 200 beds were more likely to have NFR policies than those with 60-200 beds (P = 0.04). More metropolitan than rural hospitals had NFR policies (P = 0.01). More hospitals with 60-100 beds had SOFs than hospitals with 101-200 beds (P = 0.03). "NFR" was defined in 53% of policies, while 97% of policies explicitly stated where NFR orders were to be documented, 89% stated who was allowed to make them, 37% stated that advanced care directives ("living wills") were to be respected, and 89% stated that competent patients should be involved in discussions regarding their NFR status. The most common items noted in SOFs were the name and signature of the issuing medical practitioner (92%) and documentation of the discussion with the patient (81%).

CONCLUSIONS

There was wide variation in the content of hospital policies, SOFs and PILs pertaining to NFR orders. Aspects of current policies show room for improvement.

Characteristics and outcome of false cardiac arrests in hospital

BACKGROUND

Not all hospitalised patients with symptoms of a presumed or threatened cardiac arrest, for whom the rescue team is alerted, eventually suffer a cardiac arrest. This article aims to describe the characteristics and outcome of "false cardiac arrests".

METHODS

All patients hospitalised at Sahlgrenska University Hospital for whom the rescue team was alerted between 1 November 1994 and 15 October 2002 were included.

RESULTS

In all, there were 1538 calls for the rescue team, of which 70% were caused by cardiac arrest, 9% by respiratory arrest and 21% by "other causes". Survival to discharge was 36% among patients with cardiac arrest, 64% among patients with respiratory arrest and 77% among patients with "other reasons for calling" (p<0.0001 for trend). Among survivors, a cerebral performance categories (CPC) score of 1 at hospital discharge was found in 83% of those with a cardiac arrest, 59% with respiratory arrest and 82% with other reasons for calling (NS for trend).

CONCLUSION

Among patients at a Swedish university hospital for whom the rescue team was alerted, about one-third have a "false cardiac arrest". These patients had a survival rate which was about twice that of patients with a "true cardiac arrest". However, among survivors, cerebral function at discharge was similar, regardless of "false" or "true" cardiac arrest.

In-hospital cardiac arrest--an Utstein style report of seven years experience from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital

BACKGROUND

In-hospital cardiac arrest is one of the most stressful situations in modern medicine. Since 1997, there has been a uniform way of reporting - the Utstein guidelines for in-hospital cardiac arrest reporting.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We have studied all consecutive cardiac arrest in the Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SU) between 1994 and 2001 for who the rescue team was alerted in all 833 patients. The primary endpoint for this study was survival to discharge.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven percent survived to hospital discharge. Among patients who were discharged alive, 86% were alive 1 year later. The survivors have a good cerebral outcome (94% among those who were discharged alive had cerebral performance category (CPC) score 1 or 2). The organization at SU is efficient; 80% of the cardiac arrest had CPR within 1 min. Time from cardiac arrest to first defibrillation is a median of 2 min. Almost two-thirds of the patients were admitted for cardiac related diagnoses.

CONCLUSION

The current study is the largest single-centre study of in hospital cardiac arrest reported according to the Utstein guidelines. We report a high survival for in-hospital cardiac arrest. We have pointed out that a functional chain of survival, short intervals before the start of CPR and defibrillation are probably contributing factors for this.

In-hospital cardiac arrest

To review the current management of in-hospital cardiac arrest and to identify variables that influence outcomes, OLDMEDLINE from 1950 to 1966 and MEDLINE from 1966 to March 2005 were searched using the keywords cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiac arrest, in hospital, and adult. Secondary sources were derived from review publications and personal communications by one of the authors. There is no secure evidence that the ultimate outcomes after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in settings of in-hospital cardiac arrest have improved in the >40 yrs that followed the landmark report by Kouwenhoven, Jude, and Knickerbocker, which launched the modern era of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A paucity of objective measurements preclude secure protocols for sequencing of interventions and, even more, when to initiate and discontinue cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The preparedness of both physicians and nursing professionals to implement the published guidelines has itself been questioned. Whereas early access defibrillation with automated external defibrillators may be of benefit in out-of-hospital settings, there has as yet been no secure evidence that automated external defibrillators have had a favorable impact on in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation when used on infrequent occasions by first responders. This contrasts with the much greater success of advanced life support providers and especially when electrical defibrillation is promptly performed by expertly trained personnel after onset of cardiac arrest. Outcomes are therefore improved in critical care settings and especially in coronary care units in which patients are continuously monitored.

Characteristics of patients who die in hospital with no attempt at resuscitation

OBJECTIVE

To describe the characteristics, cause of hospitalisation and symptoms prior to death in patients dying in hospital without resuscitation being started and the extent to which these decisions were documented.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All patients who died at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was not attempted during a period of one year.

RESULTS

Among 674 patients, 71% suffered respiratory insufficiency, 43% were unconscious and 32% had congestive heart failure during the 24h before death. In the vast majority of patients, the diagnosis on admission to hospital was the same as the primary cause of death. The cause of death was life-threatening organ failure, including malignancy (44%), cerebral lesion (10%) and acute coronary syndrome (10%). The prior decision of 'do not attempt resuscitation' (DNAR) was documented in the medical notes in 82%. In the remaining 119 patients (18%), only 16 died unexpectedly. In all these 16 cases, it was regarded retrospectively as ethically justifiable not to start CPR.

CONCLUSION

In patients who died at a Swedish University Hospital, we did not find a single case in which it was regarded as unethical not to start CPR. The patient group studied here had a poor prognosis due to a severe deterioration in their condition. To support this, we also found a high degree of documentation of DNAR. The low rate of CPR attempts after in-hospital cardiac arrest appears to be justified.

Very high survival among patients defibrillated at an early stage after in-hospital ventricular fibrillation on wards with and without monitoring facilities

BACKGROUND

The association between the interval between collapse and defibrillation and outcome is well described in out of hospital cardiac arrest but not as well in in-hospital cardiac arrest. We report the outcome among patients who suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest and were found in ventricular fibrillation (VF) with the emphasis on the delay to defibrillation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In patients who suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg between 1994 and 2002 there were 1.570 calls for the rescue team of which 71% had suffered a cardiac arrest. Among cardiac arrests 47% took place on monitored wards. The proportion of patients found in VF was 59% on wards with monitoring facilities and 45% on wards without (p<0.0001). Approximately 90% of these patients were defibrillated <or=3 min after collapse on monitored wards compared with 54% on non-monitored wards (p<0.0001). Among all patients, there was a strong relationship between the interval between collapse to the first defibrillation and survival to discharge from hospital (p<0.0001): 66% were discharged alive if defibrillated <or=3 min compared with 20% if defibrillated >12 min. On monitored wards, the survival was 63% if defibrillated <or=3 min compared with 60% if defibrillated >3 min after collapse (NS). The corresponding values for non-monitored wards were 72% and 35%, respectively (p=0.0003). Cerebral function among survivors at discharge appeared to be good among the majority of patients both in monitored and non monitored wards.

CONCLUSION

If patients with in hospital VF were defibrillated early in both monitored and non monitored wards survival to hospital discharge was high. This highlights the importance of being prepared for the rapid defibrillation on wards without monitoring facilities.

Older people's reasoning for resuscitation preferences and their role in the decision-making process

OBJECTIVES

To investigate older patients' reasoning for their cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) preferences and the related decision-making process (DMP).

METHODS AND SUBJECTS

In a descriptive study 220 elderly home-dwelling cardiovascular patients were interviewed and asked to justify their CPR preferences according to the given statements. Questions related to DMP were asked and their physical function, cognition, mood, and quality of life were assessed.

RESULTS

Resuscitation preferences were associated with several patient characteristics, such as age, mood and quality of life. Patients preferring CPR (114/220, 52%) estimated their prognosis of CPR to be better than those preferring to forgo CPR. They justified their view: "Life is precious and worth living for me" (92%), "Maintaining life is a value of its own" (92%), "I feel needed by my family and my closest" (81%). Participants preferring to forgo CPR (106/220, 48%) justified: "I have already gained old age and led a full life" (88%), "People cannot decide these things" (72%). Only 9% of patients had discussed, and 38% would like to discuss preferences for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) with their physician. However, 80% of respondents felt that the patients should take some part in the DMP; either alone (9%), together with a physician (23%), or together with a physician and a close relative (48%).

CONCLUSIONS

Older people justify their resuscitation preferences highlighting their experiences of meaningful life or fulfillment of their life, interpersonal relationships with their loved ones and presumed outcome of CPR. Less than a half of the patients wished to discuss CPR and LSTs preferences in their current situation with their physician, but nevertheless wanted to participate in the DMP of end-of-life treatment. Physicians should assess patients' own preferences in-depth.

Advance orders to limit therapy in 67 long-term care facilities in Finland

OBJECTIVE

To assess the documentation of a do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) or do-not-hospitalize (DNH) orders in the medical record and to determine factors related to these orders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Five thousand six hundred and fifty four subjects from three different levels of institutional long-term care (LTC), chronic care hospitals (n = 1989), nursing homes (n = 3310), and assisted living (n = 335) in 67 LTC facilities in 19 municipalities were assessed.

RESULTS

Out of these patients, 751 (13%) had a DNAR order and only 36 (0.6%) had a DNH order. The variation in DNAR orders between individual LTC institutions was enormous, ranging from 0 to 92%. In logistic regression analysis, individual institutions and their local caring cultures had the strongest explanatory value (R(2) = 0.49) for advance orders to limit therapy. Impaired activity in daily living (ADL) function (R(2) = 0.11), impaired cognition (R(2) = 0.07), level of LTC (R(2) = 0.05), and diagnoses (R(2) = 0.04) did not provide adequate explanations. Terminal prognosis was not significantly associated with advance orders.

CONCLUSIONS

We found marked differences in the use of DNAR and DNH orders between caring units. Diseases and ADL status were only weakly significant as background factors. Open discussions, general guidelines, and research about the adequacy of DNAR decisions are needed to improve equality and self-empowerment among the elderly residing in institutions.