Cardiac Arrest during Interventional Radiology Procedures: A 7-Year Single-Center Retrospective Study

An intervention radiology (IR) unit collected cardiac arrest data between January 2014 and July 2020. Of 344,600 procedures, there were 23 cardiac arrest patients (0.0067%). The patient data was compared to a representative sample (N = 400) of the IR unit to evaluate the incidence and factors associated with cardiac arrest during IR procedures. Age, procedure urgency, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status, procedure type, and underlying medical conditions were identified as valuable predictors of a patient’s susceptibility to cardiac arrest during an IR procedure. The proportion of pediatrics was higher for cardiac arrest patients, and most required immediate procedures. The distribution of high ASA physical status (III or greater) was skewed compared to that of the non-cardiac arrest patients. Vascular procedures were associated with higher risk than non-vascular procedures. The patients who underwent non-transarterial chemoembolization arterial procedures demonstrated relative risks of 4.4 and 11.7 for cardiac arrest compared to biliary procedures and percutaneous catheter drainage, respectively. In addition, the six patients (26.1%) who died before discharge all underwent vascular procedures. Relative to patients with acute kidney injury, patients with malignancy, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus demonstrated relative risks of 3.3, 3.4, and 4.8 for cardiac arrest, respectively.