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In-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest outcomes worse during night shift
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DALLAS — New data suggest that children are more likely to die if in-hospital cardiac arrest occurs at night compared with during the day or evening.
Farhan Bhanji, MD, MSc, of McGill University, Montreal, and colleagues investigated whether in-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates at night are lower in children, as they are in adults.
The researchers examined 12,439 in-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest records from the AHA Get With the Guidelines–Resuscitation Registry between January 2000 and September 2010.
Farhan Bhanji
Cases were stratified by time of day, with night defined as 11 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. and day/evening defined as 7 a.m. to 10:59 p.m.
Sixty-nine percent of cardiac arrests occurred during the day or in the evening. Survival rates for children whose cardiac arrest occurred at night were lower than those that occurred during the day or evening (night, 33.9%; day/evening, 37.2%; P<.001). There were no differences between the groups in terms of age, sex, race, first documented pulseless rhythm or time to defibrillation (P>.05).
After adjustment for predefined covariables, survival following a cardiac arrest at night was 13% lower than that for an arrest during the day or evening (adjusted OR=0.87; 95% CI, 0.78-0.97). –by Erik Swain
For more information:
Bhanji F. Abstract RESS 11975/11. Presented at: the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; Nov. 16-20, 2013; Dallas
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.