Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study patients overall and stratified by patients receiving epinephrine (adrenaline) first and defibrillation first
| Variable | Overall (n=34 820) | Epinephrine first (n=7054) | Defibrillation first (n=27 766) | Standardized difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal characteristics: | |||||
| Age (years): | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 65.8 (14.4) | 65.6 (15.0) | 65.9 (14.3) | 2.3 | |
| Median (IQR) | 67 (57-77) | 67 (57-77) | 67 (57-77) | ||
| Sex: | −1.9 | ||||
| Male | 22 039 (63.3) | 4412 (62.5) | 17 627 (63.5) | ||
| Female | 12 781 (36.7) | 2642 (37.5) | 10 139 (36.5) | ||
| Race | |||||
| White | 26 531 (76.2) | 5093 (72.2) | 21 438 (77.2) | −11.5 | |
| Black | 4972 (14.3) | 1274 (18.1) | 3698 (13.3) | 13.1 | |
| Other | 3317 (9.5) | 687 (9.7) | 2630 (9.5) | 0.1 | |
| Hispanic ethnic origin | 1597 (4.6) | 412 (5.8) | 1185 (4.3) | 7.2 | |
| Pre-existing conditions | |||||
| Myocardial infarction, this admission | 9725 (27.9) | 1390 (19.7) | 8335 (30.0) | −24.0 | |
| Myocardial infarction, previous admission | 7947 (22.8) | 1393 (19.7) | 6554 (23.6) | −9.4 | |
| Congestive heart failure, this admission | 7642 (21.9) | 1415 (20.1) | 6227 (22.4) | −5.8 | |
| Congestive heart failure, previous admission | 9095 (26.1) | 1806 (25.6) | 7289 (26.3) | −1.5 | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 11 432 (32.8) | 2470 (35.0) | 8962 (32.3) | 5.8 | |
| Renal insufficiency | 10 753 (30.9) | 2610 (37.0) | 8143 (29.3) | 16.4 | |
| Hepatic insufficiency | 2055 (5.9) | 485 (6.9) | 1570 (5.7) | 5.0 | |
| Respiratory insufficiency | 12 292 (35.3) | 2894 (41.0) | 9398 (33.8) | 14.9 | |
| Pneumonia | 3482 (10.0) | 838 (11.9) | 2644 (9.5) | 7.6 | |
| Sepsis/septicemia | 4021 (11.5) | 1108 (15.7) | 2913 (10.5) | 15.5 | |
| Hypotension/hypoperfusion | 7991 (22.9) | 1791 (25.4) | 6200 (22.3) | 7.2 | |
| Acute stroke | 1265 (3.6) | 287 (4.1) | 978 (3.5) | 2.9 | |
| Acute CNS event non-stroke | 1865 (5.4) | 407 (5.8) | 1458 (5.3) | 2.3 | |
| Baseline CNS depression | 2742 (7.9) | 597 (8.5) | 2145 (7.7) | 2.7 | |
| Major trauma | 886 (2.5) | 267 (3.8) | 619 (2.2) | 9.1 | |
| Metastatic/hematologic malignancy | 2814 (8.1) | 727 (10.3) | 2087 (7.5) | 9.8 | |
| Metabolic/electrolyte abnormalities | 5428 (15.6) | 1285 (18.2) | 4143 (14.9) | 8.9 | |
| Cardiac arrest characteristics | |||||
| Initial cardiac rhythm | −6.3 | ||||
| Pulseless ventricular fibrillation | 21 539 (61.9) | 4237 (60.1) | 17 302 (62.3) | ||
| Pulseless ventricular tachycardia | 13 281 (38.1) | 2817 (39.9) | 10 464 (37.7) | ||
| Time to first defibrillation (min) | |||||
| 0 to <2 | 22 288 (64.0) | 1376 (19.5) | 20 912 (75.3) | −134.8 | |
| >2 to 4 | 6042 (17.4) | 1780 (25.2) | 4262 (15.4) | −113.7 | |
| >4 | 6490 (18.6) | 3898 (55.3) | 2592 (9.3) | 112.7 | |
| Location of arrest: | |||||
| Intensive care unit | 19 094 (54.8) | 3956 (56.1) | 15 138 (54.5) | 3.1 | |
| Operating room/procedural area | 4144 (11.9) | 709 (10.1) | 3435 (12.4) | −7.4 | |
| Inpatient ward with telemetry | 7121 (20.5) | 1276 (18.1) | 5845 (21.1) | −7.5 | |
| Inpatient ward without telemetry | 3969 (11.4) | 1026 (14.5) | 2943 (10.6) | 11.9 | |
| Other | 492 (1.4) | 87 (1.2) | 405 (1.5) | −2.0 | |
| Activation of hospital-wide response | 27 283 (78.4) | 5532 (78.4) | 21 751 (78.3) | 0.2 | |
| Night-time arrest (11 pm to 7 am) | 10 219 (29.4) | 2233 (31.7) | 7986 (28.8) | 6.3 | |
| Interventions in place at the time of arrest: | |||||
| Assisted or mechanical ventilation | 12 727 (36.6) | 2935 (41.6) | 9792 (35.3) | 13.1 | |
| Antiarrhythmic agent | 2771 (8.0) | 325 (4.6) | 2446 (8.8) | −16.9 | |
| Dialysis or extracorporeal treatments | 1195 (3.4) | 300 (4.3) | 895 (3.2) | 5.4 | |
| Vasoactive agent | 9397 (27.0) | 2028 (28.7) | 7369 (26.5) | 4.5 | |
| Calendar year of arrest: | |||||
| 2000-05 | 9871 (28.3) | 1481 (21.0) | 8390 (30.2) | −21.2 | |
| 2006-10 | 9009 (25.9) | 1791 (25.4) | 7218 (26.0) | −1.4 | |
| 2011-15 | 9252 (26.6) | 2158 (30.6) | 7094 (25.6) | 11.2 | |
| 2016-18 | 6688 (19.2) | 1624 (23.0) | 5064 (18.2) | 11.8 | |
CNS=central nervous system; IQR=interquartile range; SD=standard deviation.