Table 1.
Patient characteristics before cardiac arrest and causes of cardiac arrest.
| Characteristic | Control group (n = 98) | Steroids group (n = 86) |
|---|---|---|
| Age – yra | 76.0 (67.0–83.0) | 76.0 (63.8–83.3) |
| Male sex – no. (%) | 54 (55.1) | 49 (57.0) |
| Body-mass index – kg/m2a | 26.0 (23.5–28.1) | 25.8 (22.8–29.5) |
| Pre-arrest hospital stay – daysa | 1.0 (0.5–1.0) | 1.0 (0.0–3.0) |
| Comorbidity– no. (%) | ||
| Cardiovascular– no. (%) | ||
| Hypertension | 64 (65.3) | 62 (72.1) |
| Diabetes | 31 (31.6) | 28 (32.6) |
| Coronary artery disease | 39 (39.8) | 25 (29.1) |
| Cardiac arrhythmia | 26 (26.5) | 18 (20.9) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 26 (26.5) | 17 (19.8) |
| Valvular heart disease | 12(12.2) | 9 (10.5) |
| Cardiac conduction disturbances | 12 (12.2) | 11(12.8) |
| Non-cardiovascular-no. (%)b | 77 (78.6) | 71 (82.6) |
| Hospital Admission Cause – no. (%)c | ||
| Acute digestive disease | 17 (17.3) | 20 (23.3) |
| Acute respiratory disease | 22 (22.4) | 16 (18.6) |
| Acute cardiovascular disease | 36 (36.7) | 23 (26.7) |
| Acute neurologic disease | 12 (12.2) | 12 (14.0) |
| Trauma | 7 (7.1) | 2 (2.3) |
| Malignancy | 2 (2.0) | 7 (8.1) |
| Acute renal disease | 8 (8.2) | 12 (14.0) |
| Other | 4 (4.1) | 8 (9.3) |
| Cause(s) of cardiac arrest-no.(%)d | ||
| Hypotension | 38 (38.8) | 43 (50.0) |
| Respiratory depressione or failuref | 46 (46.9) | 40 (46.5) |
| Myocardial ischemia/infarction | 26 (26.5) | 13 (15.1) |
| Metabolic | 26 (26.5) | 29 (33.7) |
| Arrhythmia | 14 (14.3) | 12 (14.0) |
| Otherg | 8 (8.2) | 5 (5.8) |
Data presented as median (interquartile range).
Includes chronic respiratory, neurologic, digestive, renal, endocrine, psychiatric, ocular, musculoskeletal, and autoimmune disease, malignancy, morbid obesity, substance abuse, and immunosuppression; 1 control patient (1.0%) had prior treatment with oral prednisone (15 mg/day), and 1 control patient (1.0%) and 1 Steroids group patient (1.2%) had prior treatment with inhaled corticosteroids.
Some patients had more than one cause of hospital admission; “other” causes included 2 cases of hyponatremia, 2 cases of drug-related QT prolongation, and 1 case of erysipelothrix infection, substance abuse-related respiratory depression, acute hypothyroidism, food refusal, lower extremity gangrene, elective coronary artery bypass grafting, immunosuppression-associated sepsis, and septic shock caused by Panton-Valentine-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
In some patients, there were more than 1 major disturbances precipitating the cardiac arrest.
Occurring during spontaneous breathing.
Occurring after endotracheal intubation and initiation of mechanical ventilation.
Includes 2 cases of drug-related polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (torsades des pointes), 2 cases of central venous catheterization-related hemothorax, 2 cases of bradycardia/asystole due to an acute rise in intracranial pressure, and 1 case of abdominal compartment syndrome, massive unilateral pleural effusion, upper airway obstruction during feeding, drug-related hyperkalemia, acute myocarditis-associated arrhythmia, drug-associated hypomagnesemia, and vagotonic arrest.