Avoidable Mortality from In-hospital Cardiac Arrest
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Avoidable mortality from in-hospital cardiac arrest: Have interventions aimed at recognising and rescuing deteriorating patients made an impact on incidence and outcomes?
IRAS ID
139667
Contact name
Helen Hogan
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
A substantial proportion of patients who experience a cardiac arrest in hospital have shown signs of deterioration for up to eight hours before the event which have not been identified or acted upon by staff. Once a patient has experienced an arrest, their outcomes are very poor with only 15% leaving hospital alive. With around 20,000 cardiac arrests in NHS hospitals each year, a substantial number
of subsequent deaths might be avoided if deterioration was identified earlier.
A number of interventions aimed at improving the recognition and care of acutely ill patients have been put in place over the last few years. After taking into account differences in patient mix, variation in the way these services have been implemented is likely to be a major reason for the variation in cardiac arrest rates and outcomes found across the 60% of English hospitals participating in the National Cardiac Arrest Audit (NCAA).
The aim of this research is to determine the association between different services aimed at identification of patients at risk of deterioration and their subsequent management and ward-based cardiac arrest rates and outcomes. In the first phase of the study we will review research evidence on the effectiveness of services,gather information on how such services have been implemented in 20 hospitals, selected because of the different approaches they have taken. Using information gathered from both phases we will carry out a survey to map interventions across all hospitals participating in the NCAA. We will then investigate which combinations of services are associated with the lowest cardiac arrest rates and best outcomes. We will also look at how arrest rates and outcomes have changed over time in hospitals as new services have been introduced.
Identifying key interventions that improve outcomes will enable hospital managers, clinicians and policy makers to raise standards of care for all patients at risk of deterioration and reduce avoidable mortality.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SW/0151
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion