Table 1.
Indications, locations and reasons for the 146 cardiac arrest team alarms
| Indication/ location/ reason | Patients [n (%)] |
|---|---|
| With life threatening conditions | 86 (58.9) |
| Cardiac arrest | 68 (46.6) |
| Acute airway problem | 6 (4.1) |
| Other life-threatening conditions | 12 (8.2) |
| With non-life-threatening conditions | 60 (41.1) |
| Syncope | 25 (17.1) |
| Unspecific deterioration of clinical status | 14 (9.6) |
| Suspected seizure | 8 (5.5) |
| Do not attempt resuscitation order | 2 (1.4) |
| Unintentional activation | 11 (7.5) |
| Locations | |
| Central campus building | 107 (73.3) |
| Wards | 66 (45.2) |
| Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory | 28 (19.2) |
| Emergency Room | 11 (7.5) |
| Operating Room | 2 (1.4) |
| Peripheral campus pavilions | 31 (21.2) |
| Not documented | 8 (5.5) |
| Reason for cardiac arrest team alarmsa | 100 (100) |
| Ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation | 49 (49.0) |
| Heart rate < 40 bpm or > 140 bpm | 16 (16.0) |
| Glasgow Coma Scale decrease ≥ 2 points | 8 (8.0) |
| Blood pressure < 90 mmHg or rise from baseline > 40 mmHg | 8 (8.0) |
| Respiration rate < 6 bpm or > 35 bpm | 8 (8.0) |
| Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) < 90% | 4 (4.0) |
| Seizure | 1 (1.0) |
| Seriously worried about patient‡ | 3 (3.0) |
aCases can accumulate multiple reasons
‡Only if no objective reason could be defined