Abstract 329: Unrecognized Clinical Deterioration Prior to In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and Associated In-Hospital Mortality

Abstract

Introduction: Physiologic abnormalities often precede in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). Critical Care Outreach Teams (CCOTs) are designed to respond to patients that meet standardized rapid response team (RRT) activation criteria including vital sign abnormalities, neurologic changes, and nursing concern. However, these systems often rely on clinical staff recognizing signs of clinical deterioration and initiating a rapid response. Research Question: The purpose of this post-hoc analysis was to identify if there was an in-hospital mortality difference between two different adult patient groups: 1) patients who met standardized RRT criteria but did not receive an RRT prior to IHCA and 2) patients who had no evidence of clinical deterioration prior to IHCA. Goals: The primary goal was to explore the association of unrecognized clinical deterioration on patient mortality. A secondary goal was to identify the timing onset of RRT criteria in patients who had an IHCA but did not receive an RRT activation. Methods: All non-ICU IHCAs during a 5-year period (January 1st, 2018, to December 31st, 2022) were reviewed to identify whether: 1) standardized RRT criteria had been met in the 24 hours prior to IHCA, 2) the onset of RRT criteria if present, 3) sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) occurred during the IHCA, and 4) if the patient died during their hospitalization. Results: There were 271 adult non-ICU IHCAs without a preceding RRT activation. Of those, 203 (79.4%) met RRT criteria prior to IHCA. In patients who had evidence of clinical deterioration, patients displayed at least one RRT criterion an average of 13.1 hours prior to IHCA. Sustained ROSC was higher in the patient group without RRT criteria (79.4%, 54/68 vs 72.9%, 148/203), but this was not significant. In-hospital mortality was significantly higher patients who met RRT criteria without RRT activation compared to patients who did not meet RRT criteria prior to IHCA (67.9%, 65/138 vs 54.4%, 31/37, p<0.05). Conclusions: Most patients who experienced an IHCA demonstrated physiologic abnormalities hours prior to IHCA. Patients who met RRT criteria without RRT activation had a significantly higher mortality rate when compared with patients who did not have evidence of clinical deterioration.