Patient characteristics and survival outcomes of cardiac arrest in the cardiac catheterization laboratory: Insights from get with the Guidelines®-Resuscitation registry

Background: Characteristics and outcomes of patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) have not been well-described. Thus, we compared the outcomes of patients with an IHCA in the CCL versus those in the intensive care unit (ICU) and operating rooms (OR).

Methods: Within the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines®-Resuscitation registry, we identified patients ≥ 18 years old with IHCA in the CCL, ICU, or OR between 2000-2019. Using hierarchical multivariable logistic regression, we compared rates of survival to discharge for patients with IHCA in the CCL versus ICU and OR.

Results: Across 428 hospitals, 193,950 patients had IHCA, of whom 6865, 181,905 and 5180 were in the CCL, ICU and OR, respectively. Overall, 2614 (38.1%) patients with IHCA in the CCL survived to discharge, whereas 30,830 (16.9%) and 2096 (40.5%) survived to discharge from the ICU and OR, respectively. After adjustment, patients with IHCA in CCL were more likely to survive to discharge as compared to those with IHCA in the ICU (odds ratio, 1.37 [95%CI: 1.29-1.46], p < 0.001). In contrast, those who had IHCA in the CCL were less likely to survive to discharge as compared to patients with IHCA in the OR (odds ratio, 0.81 [95%CI: 0.69-0.94], p = 0.006).

Conclusion: IHCA in the CCL is not uncommon and has a lower survival rate when compared with IHCA in the OR. The reasons for this difference deserve further study given that cardiac arrest in both settings is witnessed and response time should be similar.