Epidemiologic Study of In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the Elderly

In this longitudinal study of hospitalized Medicare patients, there was no improvement in survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the period from 1992 through 2005. The overall rate of survival to discharge of patients who underwent in-hospital CPR was 18.3%. Survival after CPR was lower among black patients than among white patients. In this study of hospitalized Medicare patients, there was no improvement in survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the period from 1992 through 2005. Survival after CPR was lower among black patients than among white patients. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) evolved from a specific intervention applied in limited clinical situations to the default response to cardiac arrest in or out of the hospital, an evolution accompanied by a dramatic decline in survival rates after CPR. 1 – 3 Subsequently, innovations allowing rapid out-of-hospital CPR resulted in improved outcomes in the out-of-hospital setting. 4 , 5 However, it is unclear whether advances in CPR or in care after cardiac arrest have improved outcomes after in-hospital arrest. Reported rates of survival to discharge after in-hospital CPR vary from 7% to 26%. 6 – 8 The largest study to date, which included 14,720 CPR events from . . .