Outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts in a Greek tertiary hospital.

Introduction: In-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death and despite recent advances in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the survival to hospital discharge is poor. The aim of our study was to evaluate the success of resuscitation efforts in a tertiary hospital.

Patients and methods: We retrospectively collected and analysed data on all patients in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted after in-hospital cardiac arrest in one-year period.

Results: 96 cardiac arrest victims were studied. Sustained return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 15 (15.6%) patients, while all of them survived for 24 h. Training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, initiation of resuscitation efforts in less than 5 min, and intubation time < 1 min after team arrival were predictive factors associated with restoration of spontaneous circulation. Non-certified residents resuscitated 87 (90.6%) patients with 6 (6.8%) of them achieving return of spontaneous circulation and surviving for 24 h. On the contrary, certified ward residents resuscitated nine (9.3%) patients with 100% immediate and 24-h survival.

Conclusion: In our hospital, certified providers had remarkably higher successful resuscitation rates for in-hospital cardiac arrest than non-certified providers. This finding suggests that training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, continuing medical education, and implementation of the existing legislation will result in increased survival.