Cardiac doctors can better predict outcomes 'with alternative to historic method'
Tuesday 12th July 2011
Doctors in cardiac jobs have demonstrated that cardiac arrest outcomes can be better predicted using an alternative to traditional historical factors.
Researchers used a new method for assessing cardiac arrest patients at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, based on categorising the severity of the illness using a combination of neurological and cardiopulmonary dysfunction results during the first few hours of circulatory restoration.
The findings, published in the online journal Resuscitation, revealed that this categorisation method was far more effective at predicting outcomes and guiding the decisions of families than historical factors, such as initial rhythm and where the arrest occurred.
Lead researcher Jon Rittenberger, of the University of Pittsburgh, explained: "We have used historical or event-related information, such as initial cardiac rhythm or whether someone witnessed the collapse, to categorise these patients.
"The category of illness severity had a stronger association with survival and good outcomes than did such historically used factors."
Genetic factors may also have a significant role to play in the ability of those in cardiac jobs to predict the outcomes for a patient following an arrest.
Recent research carried out at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center suggested that a particular gene could be linked to an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
BAZ2B was associated with an increased risk of a heart disorder that kills more than 250,000 in the US and five million worldwide each year.
The susceptibility caused by this genetic variation may more than double particular patients' predisposition to sudden cardiac arrest, which is fatal in around 95 per cent of cases.
Sumeet Chugh, senior author of the study, which is published in the Public Library of Science, said: "If we wait until someone has a sudden cardiac arrest, it is usually too late for treatment. That is why knowing who is genetically susceptible is so important."
Written by Angela Newbury
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