Retrospective evaluation of clinical findings and laboratory examinations of pediatric patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the similarities and differences between clinical features and laboratory results of patients who were hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital after underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in-hospital or out-of-hospital. Patients aged between 1 month and 216 months who were hospitalized in the PICU of Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital after return of spontaneous circulation was achieved between October 1, 2016 and April 1, 2023 were included in our study. Patient data were obtained retrospectively from patient files, hospital system, patient epicrisis reports and PICU data. 80 patients were included in the study. 42 (52.5%) of the patients were female and the median age was 24 months. Two groups were examined as 62.5% of the patients who were in the hospital and 37.5% of the patients who were out-of-hospital. 83.75% (n=67) of the arrests occurred due to respiratory reasons, and 16.25% (n=13) occurred due to cardiac reasons. The most common cause of arrest in the in-hospital patients was lung diseases with 34% (n=17) range and drowning with 33.3% (n=10) range in out-of-hospital patients (p=0.006). The arrests in the hospital were witnessed more often (92%) than the arrests out-of-hospital (p<0.01). In hospital arrests, the response time to CPR was within the first 5 minutes in 54% (n=27) range and out-of-hospital arrests, between 5 and 15 minutes in 53.3% (n=16) range (p<0.05). The blood gas lactate level of the patients was lower in in-hospital arrests than in out-of-hospital arrests (p<0.05). The diagram of laboratory parameters pH, PaCO2, HCO3, PaO2, Glucose, LDH, ALT, AST, Sodium, Potassium, Urea, Creatinine, WBC values and coagulation parameters did not show significant differences in-hospital and out-of-hospital. Cardiac arrests are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity both in and out of hospital. Lactate level, resuscitation duration, witness status, ventilation route during CPR, and causes of arrest may differ in in-hospital and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases. Effective CPR is very important in reducing mortality and morbidity. Training not only healthcare personnel but also the public on CPR may reduce the differences between in-hospital and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests over time.