Critically ill patients with COVID-19 have poor outcomes and are known to be at a high risk of cardiac arrest. However, the exact incidence and risk factors are not well known. This study aims to determine the incidence, outcomes, and risk factors of in-hospital cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
This multicenter cohort study included a total of 5,019 critically ill patients aged 18 or more with confirmed COVID-19. The primary outcome of the study was in-hospital cardiac arrest within 14 days of admission to ICU to hospital mortality.
Of 5,019 included patients, 701 (14.0%) had an in-hospital cardiac arrest, and 400 of them (57.1%) received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The findings suggested that patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest were older (mean age 63 years) and had more comorbidities. The patients who were assigned to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation were younger (mean age 61 years). Pulseless electrical activity and asystole were the most common. Of 400 patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation, only 48 (12%) survived to hospital discharge.
The research concluded that critically ill patients with COVID-19 were at a higher risk of cardiac arrest, with the risk being significantly higher in older people
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3513
