Projected total number of adult in-hospital cardiac arrests that are treated with a resuscitation response each year in U.S. hospitals.¹ Raina Merchant, MD, and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania Health System derived several estimates from the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry for 2003 to 2007, weighted for total U.S. hospital bed days. Survival rate for in-hospital cardiac arrests is 21%, compared with 10% for arrests in other settings. But the authors note that arrests might be rising, which is “important for understanding the burden of in-hospital cardiac arrest and developing strategies to improve care for hospitalized patients,” Dr. Merchant says.

Reference

1. Merchant RM, Yang L, Becker LB, et al. Incidence of treated cardiac arrest in hospitalized patients in the United States. Crit Care Med. 2011;39(11):2401-2406.