Factors associated with the decision to terminate resuscitation early for adult in-hospital cardiac arrest: Influence of family in an East Asian society

BACKGROUND: We attempted to identify factors associated with physicians’ decisions to terminate CPR and to explore the role of family in the decision-making process. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study in a single center in Taiwan. Patients who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) between 2006 and 2014 were screened for study inclusion. Multivariate survival analysis was conducted to identify independent variables associated with IHCA outcomes using the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: A total of 1525 patients were included in the study. Family was present at the beginning of CPR during 722 (47.3%) resuscitation events. The median CPR duration was significantly shorter for patients with family present at the beginning of CPR than for those without family present (23.5 mins vs 30 min, p = 0.01). Some factors were associated with shorter time to termination of CPR, including arrest in an intensive care unit, Charlson comorbidity index score greater than 2, age older than 79 years, baseline evidence of motor, cognitive, or functional deficits, and vasopressors in place at time of arrest. After adjusting for confounding effects, family presence was associated with shorter time to termination of CPR (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–1.46; p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Clinicians’ decisions concerning when to terminate CPR seemed to be based on outcome prognosticators. Family presence at the beginning of CPR was associated with shorter duration of CPR. Effective communication, along with outcome prediction tools, may avoid prolonged CPR efforts in an East Asian society.