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Context: Chest compression-only bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be as effective as conventional CPR with rescue breathing for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.Objective: To investigate the survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using compression-only CPR (COCPR) compared with conventional CPR.Design, Setting, and Patients: A 5-year prospective observational cohort study of survival in patients at least 18 years old with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009, in Arizona. The relationship between layperson bystander CPR and survival to hospital discharge was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression.Main Outcome Measure: Survival to hospital discharge.Results: Among 5272 adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of cardiac etiology not observed by responding emergency medical personnel, 779 were excluded because bystander CPR was provided by a health care professional or the arrest occurred in a medical facility. A total of 4415 met all inclusion criteria for analysis, including 2900 who received no bystander CPR, 666 who received conventional CPR, and 849 who received COCPR. Rates of survival to hospital discharge were 5.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4%-6.0%) for the no bystander CPR group, 7.8% (95% CI, 5.8%-9.8%) for conventional CPR, and 13.3% (95% CI, 11.0%-15.6%) for COCPR. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for survival for conventional CPR vs no CPR was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.69-1.43), for COCPR vs no CPR, 1.59 (95% CI, 1.18-2.13), and for COCPR vs conventional CPR, 1.60 (95% CI, 1.08-2.35). From 2005 to 2009, lay rescuer CPR increased from 28.2% (95% CI, 24.6%-31.8%) to 39.9% (95% CI, 36.8%-42.9%; P < .001); the proportion of CPR that was COCPR increased from 19.6% (95% CI, 13.6%-25.7%) to 75.9% (95% CI, 71.7%-80.1%; P < .001). Overall survival increased from 3.7% (95% CI, 2.2%-5.2%) to 9.8% (95% CI, 8.0%-11.6%; P < .001).Conclusion: Among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, layperson compression-only CPR was associated with increased survival compared with conventional CPR and no bystander CPR in this setting with public endorsement of chest compression-only CPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration is associated with cardiac arrest survival., Objectives: To describe characteristics associated with CPR duration among hospitalized children without return of circulation (ROC) (patient-level analysis) and determine whether hospital median CPR duration in patients without ROC is associated with survival (hospital-level analysis)., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing pediatric in-hospital CPR between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2021, used data from the Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry. Children receiving chest compressions for at least 2 minutes and/or defibrillation were included in the patient-level analysis. For the hospital-level analysis, sites with at least 20 total events and at least 5 events without ROC were included. Data were analyzed from December 1, 2022, to November 15, 2023., Exposures: For the patient-level analysis, the exposure was CPR duration in patients without ROC. For the hospital-level analysis, the exposure was quartile of median CPR duration in events without ROC at each hospital., Main Outcomes and Measures: For the patient-level analysis, outcomes were patient and event factors, including race and ethnicity and event location; we used a multivariable hierarchical linear regression model to assess factors associated with CPR duration in patients without ROC. For the hospital-level analysis, the main outcome was survival to discharge among all site events; we used a random intercept multivariable hierarchical logistic regression model to examine the association between hospital quartile of CPR duration and survival to discharge., Results: Of 13 899 events, 3859 patients did not have ROC (median age, 7 months [IQR, 0 months to 7 years]; 2175 boys [56%]). Among event nonsurvivors, median CPR duration was longer in those with initial rhythms of bradycardia with poor perfusion (8.37 [95% CI, 5.70-11.03] minutes; P < .001), pulseless electrical activity (8.22 [95% CI, 5.44-11.00] minutes; P < .001), and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (6.17 [95% CI, 0.09-12.26] minutes; P = .047) (vs asystole). Shorter median CPR duration was associated with neonates compared with older children (-4.86 [95% CI, -8.88 to -0.84] minutes; P = .02), emergency department compared with pediatric intensive car7 e unit location (-4.02 [95% CI, -7.48 to -0.57] minutes; P = .02), and members of racial or ethnic minority groups compared with White patients (-3.67 [95% CI, -6.18 to -1.17]; P = .004). Among all CPR events, the adjusted odds of survival to discharge differed based on hospital quartile of median CPR duration among events without ROC; compared with quartile 1 (15.0-25.9 minutes), the adjusted odds ratio for quartile 2 (26.0-29.4 minutes) was 1.22 (95% CI, 1.09-1.36; P < .001); for quartile 3 (29.5-32.9 minutes), 1.23 (95% CI, 1.08-1.39; P = .002); and for quartile 4 (33.0-53.0 minutes), 1.04 (95% CI, 0.91-1.19; P = .58)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this retrospective cohort study of pediatric in-hospital CPR, several factors, including age and event location, were associated with CPR duration in event nonsurvivors. The odds of survival to discharge were lower for patients at hospitals with the shortest and longest median CPR durations among events without ROC. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal duration of CPR during pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest and to provide training guidelines for resuscitation teams to eliminate disparities in resuscitation care.

Importance: Sepsis is a leading cause of pediatric mortality. Little attention has been paid to the association between viral DNA and mortality in children and adolescents with sepsis., Objective: To assess the association of the presence of viral DNA with sepsis-related mortality in a large multicenter study., Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study compares pediatric patients with and without plasma cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), parvovirus B19 (B19V), BK polyomavirus (BKPyV), human adenovirus (HAdV), and torque teno virus (TTV) DNAemia detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction or plasma IgG antibodies to CMV, EBV, HSV-1, or HHV-6. A total of 401 patients younger than 18 years with severe sepsis were enrolled from 9 pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. Data were collected from 2015 to 2018. Samples were assayed from 2019 to 2022. Data were analyzed from 2022 to 2023., Main Outcomes and Measures: Death while in the PICU., Results: Among the 401 patients included in the analysis, the median age was 6 (IQR, 1-12) years, and 222 (55.4%) were male. One hundred fifty-four patients (38.4%) were previously healthy, 108 (26.9%) were immunocompromised, and 225 (56.1%) had documented infection(s) at enrollment. Forty-four patients (11.0%) died in the PICU. Viral DNAemia with at least 1 virus (excluding TTV) was detected in 191 patients (47.6%) overall, 63 of 108 patients (58.3%) who were immunocompromised, and 128 of 293 (43.7%) who were not immunocompromised at sepsis onset. After adjustment for age, Pediatric Risk of Mortality score, previously healthy status, and immunocompromised status at sepsis onset, CMV (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 3.01 [95% CI, 1.36-6.45]; P = .007), HAdV (AOR, 3.50 [95% CI, 1.46-8.09]; P = .006), BKPyV (AOR. 3.02 [95% CI, 1.17-7.34]; P = .02), and HHV-6 (AOR, 2.62 [95% CI, 1.31-5.20]; P = .007) DNAemia were each associated with increased mortality. Two or more viruses were detected in 78 patients (19.5%), with mortality among 12 of 32 (37.5%) who were immunocompromised and 9 of 46 (19.6%) who were not immunocompromised at sepsis onset. Herpesvirus seropositivity was common (HSV-1, 82 of 246 [33.3%]; CMV, 107 of 254 [42.1%]; EBV, 152 of 251 [60.6%]; HHV-6, 253 if 257 [98.4%]). After additional adjustment for receipt of blood products in the PICU, EBV seropositivity was associated with increased mortality (AOR, 6.10 [95% CI, 1.00-118.61]; P = .049)., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this cohort study suggest that DNAemia for CMV, HAdV, BKPyV, and HHV-6 and EBV seropositivity were independently associated with increased sepsis mortality. Further investigation of the underlying biology of these viral DNA infections in children with sepsis is warranted to determine whether they only reflect mortality risk or contribute to mortality.

Importance: Approximately 40% of children who experience an in-hospital cardiac arrest survive to hospital discharge. Achieving threshold intra-arrest diastolic blood pressure (BP) targets during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and systolic BP targets after the return of circulation may be associated with improved outcomes., Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a bundled intervention comprising physiologically focused CPR training at the point of care and structured clinical event debriefings., Design, Setting, and Participants: A parallel, hybrid stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial (Improving Outcomes from Pediatric Cardiac Arrest-the ICU-Resuscitation Project [ICU-RESUS]) involving 18 pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) from 10 clinical sites in the US. In this hybrid trial, 2 clinical sites were randomized to remain in the intervention group and 2 in the control group for the duration of the study, and 6 were randomized to transition from the control condition to the intervention in a stepped-wedge fashion. The index (first) CPR events of 1129 pediatric ICU patients were included between October 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021, and were followed up to hospital discharge (final follow-up was April 30, 2021)., Intervention: During the intervention period (n = 526 patients), a 2-part ICU resuscitation quality improvement bundle was implemented, consisting of CPR training at the point of care on a manikin (48 trainings/unit per month) and structured physiologically focused debriefings of cardiac arrest events (1 debriefing/unit per month). The control period (n = 548 patients) consisted of usual pediatric ICU management of cardiac arrest., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with a favorable neurologic outcome defined as a Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 to 3 or no change from baseline (score range, 1 [normal] to 6 [brain death or death]). The secondary outcome was survival to hospital discharge., Results: Among 1389 cardiac arrests experienced by 1276 patients, 1129 index CPR events (median patient age, 0.6 [IQR, 0.2-3.8] years; 499 girls [44%]) were included and 1074 were analyzed in the primary analysis. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome of survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcomes in the intervention group (53.8%) vs control (52.4%); risk difference (RD), 3.2% (95% CI, -4.6% to 11.4%); adjusted OR, 1.08 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.53). There was also no significant difference in survival to hospital discharge in the intervention group (58.0%) vs control group (56.8%); RD, 1.6% (95% CI, -6.2% to 9.7%); adjusted OR, 1.03 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.47)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial conducted in 18 pediatric intensive care units, a bundled intervention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training at the point of care and physiologically focused structured debriefing, compared with usual care, did not significantly improve patient survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome among pediatric patients who experienced cardiac arrest in the ICU., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02837497.

Importance: Short- and long-term functional impairment after pediatric injury may be more sensitive for measuring quality of care compared with mortality alone. The characteristics of injured children and adolescents who are at the highest risk for functional impairment are unknown., Objective: To evaluate categories of injuries associated with higher prevalence of impaired functional status at hospital discharge among children and adolescents and to estimate the number of those with injuries in these categories who received treatment at pediatric trauma centers., Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort study (Assessment of Functional Outcomes and Health-Related Quality of Life After Pediatric Trauma) included children and adolescents younger than 15 years who were hospitalized with at least 1 serious injury at 1 of 7 level 1 pediatric trauma centers from March 2018 to February 2020., Exposure: At least 1 serious injury (Abbreviated Injury Scale score, ≥3 [scores range from 1 to 6, with higher scores indicating more severe injury]) classified into 9 categories based on the body region injured and the presence of a severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Scale score <9 or Glasgow Coma Scale motor score <5)., Main Outcomes and Measures: New domain morbidity defined as a 2 points or more change in any of 6 domains (mental status, sensory, communication, motor function, feeding, and respiratory) measured using the Functional Status Scale (FSS) (scores range from 1 [normal] to 5 [very severe dysfunction] for each domain) in each injury category at hospital discharge. The estimated prevalence of impairment associated with each injury category was assessed in the population of seriously injured children and adolescents treated at participating sites., Results: This study included a sample of 427 injured children and adolescents (271 [63.5%] male; median age, 7.2 years [interquartile range, 2.5-11.7 years]), 74 (17.3%) of whom had new FSS domain morbidity at discharge. The proportion of new FSS domain morbidity was highest among those with multiple injured body regions and severe head injury (20 of 24 [83.3%]) and lowest among those with an isolated head injury of mild or moderate severity (1 of 84 [1.2%]). After adjusting for oversampling of specific injuries in the study sample, 749 of 5195 seriously injured children and adolescents (14.4%) were estimated to have functional impairment at hospital discharge. Children and adolescents with extremity injuries (302 of 749 [40.3%]) and those with severe traumatic brain injuries (258 of 749 [34.4%]) comprised the largest proportions of those estimated to have impairment at discharge., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, most injured children and adolescents returned to baseline functional status by hospital discharge. These findings suggest that functional status assessments can be limited to cohorts of injured children and adolescents at the highest risk for impairment.

Importance: The clinical consequences of red blood cell storage age for critically ill pediatric patients have not been examined in a large, randomized clinical trial., Objective: To determine if the transfusion of fresh red blood cells (stored ≤7 days) reduced new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome compared with the use of standard-issue red blood cells in critically ill children., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Age of Transfused Blood in Critically-Ill Children trial was an international, multicenter, blinded, randomized clinical trial, performed between February 2014 and November 2018 in 50 tertiary care centers. Pediatric patients between the ages of 3 days and 16 years were eligible if the first red blood cell transfusion was administered within 7 days of intensive care unit admission. A total of 15 568 patients were screened, and 13 308 were excluded., Interventions: Patients were randomized to receive either fresh or standard-issue red blood cells. A total of 1538 patients were randomized with 768 patients in the fresh red blood cell group and 770 in the standard-issue group., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, measured for 28 days or to discharge or death., Results: Among 1538 patients who were randomized, 1461 patients (95%) were included in the primary analysis (median age, 1.8 years; 47.3% girls), in which there were 728 patients randomized to the fresh red blood cell group and 733 to the standard-issue group. The median storage duration was 5 days (interquartile range [IQR], 4-6 days) in the fresh group vs 18 days (IQR, 12-25 days) in the standard-issue group (P < .001). There were no significant differences in new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome between fresh (147 of 728 [20.2%]) and standard-issue red blood cell groups (133 of 732 [18.2%]), with an unadjusted absolute risk difference of 2.0% (95% CI, -2.0% to 6.1%; P = .33). The prevalence of sepsis was 25.8% (160 of 619) in the fresh group and 25.3% (154 of 608) in the standard-issue group. The prevalence of acute respiratory distress syndrome was 6.6% (41 of 619) in the fresh group and 4.8% (29 of 608) in the standard-issue group. Intensive care unit mortality was 4.5% (33 of 728) in the fresh group vs 3.5 % (26 of 732) in the standard-issue group (P = .34)., Conclusions and Relevance: Among critically ill pediatric patients, the use of fresh red blood cells did not reduce the incidence of new or progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (including mortality) compared with standard-issue red blood cells., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01977547.

Importance: Guidelines for declaration of brain death in children were revised in 2011 by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Child Neurology Society. Despite widespread medical, legal, and ethical acceptance, ongoing controversies exist with regard to the concept of brain death and the procedures for its determination., Objectives: To determine the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients declared brain dead in the United States., Design, Setting, and Participants: This study involved the abstraction of all patient deaths from the Virtual Pediatric Systems national multicenter database between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2017. All patients who died in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) were included., Main Outcomes and Measures: Patient demographics, preillness developmental status, severity of illness, cause of death, PICU medical and physical length of stay, and organ donation status, as well as comparison between patients who were declared brain dead vs those who sustained cardiovascular or cardiopulmonary death., Results: Of the 15 344 patients who died, 3170 (20.7%) were declared brain dead; 1861 of these patients (58.7%) were male, and 1401 (44.2%) were between 2 and 12 years of age. There was a linear association between PICU size and number of patients declared brain dead per year, with an increase of 4.27 patients (95% CI, 3.46-5.08) per 1000-patient increase in discharges (P < .001). The median (interquartile range) of patients declared brain dead per year ranged from 1 (0-3) in smaller PICUs (defined as those with <500 discharges per year) to 10 (7-15) for larger PICUs (those with 2000-4000 discharges per year). The most common causative mechanisms of brain death were hypoxic-ischemic injury owing to cardiac arrest (1672 of 3170 [52.7%]), shock and/or respiratory arrest without cardiac arrest (399 of 3170 [12.6%]), and traumatic brain injury (634 of 3170 [20.0%]). Most patients declared brain dead (681 of 807 [84.4%]) did not have preexisting neurological dysfunction. Patients who were organ donors (1568 of 3144 [49.9%]) remained in the PICU longer after declaration of brain death compared with those who were not donors (median [interquartile range], 29 [6-41] hours vs 4 [1-8] hours; P < .001)., Conclusions and Relevance: Brain death occurred in one-fifth of PICU deaths. Most children declared brain dead had no preexisting neurological dysfunction and had an acute hypoxic-ischemic or traumatic brain injury. Brain death determinations are infrequent, even in large PICUs, emphasizing the importance of ongoing education for medical professionals and standardization of protocols to ensure diagnostic accuracy and consistency.

Importance: Delayed defibrillation (>2 minutes) in adult in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is associated with worse outcomes. Little is known about the timing and outcomes of defibrillation in pediatric IHCA., Objective: To determine whether time to first defibrillation attempt in pediatric IHCA with a first documented shockable rhythm is associated with survival to hospital discharge., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study, data were obtained from the Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation national registry between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2015, and analyses were completed by October 1, 2017. Participants were pediatric patients younger than 18 years with an IHCA and a first documented rhythm of pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation and at least 1 defibrillation attempt., Exposures: Time between loss of pulse and first defibrillation attempt., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes were return of circulation, 24-hour survival, and favorable neurologic outcome at hospital discharge., Results: Among 477 patients with a pulseless shockable rhythm (median [interquartile range] age, 4 years [3 months to 14 years]; 285 [60%] male), 338 (71%) had a first defibrillation attempt at 2 minutes or less after pulselessness. Children were less likely to be shocked in 2 minutes or less for ward vs intensive care unit IHCAs (48% [11 of 23] vs 72% [268 of 371]; P = .01]). Thirty-eight percent (179 patients) survived to hospital discharge. The median (interquartile range) reported time to first defibrillation attempt was 1 minute (0-3 minutes) in both survivors and nonsurvivors. Time to first defibrillation attempt was not associated with survival in unadjusted analysis (risk ratio [RR] per minute increase, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-1.01; P = .15) or adjusted analysis (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.94-1.06; P = .86). There was no difference in survival between those with a first defibrillation attempt in 2 minutes or less vs more than 2 minutes in unadjusted analysis (132 of 338 [39%] vs 47 of 139 [34%]; RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.66-1.13; P = .29) or multivariable analysis (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.75-1.30; P = .93). Time to first defibrillation attempt was also not associated with secondary outcome measures., Conclusions and Relevance: In contrast to published adult IHCA and pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest data, no significant association was observed between time to first defibrillation attempt in pediatric IHCA with a first documented shockable rhythm and survival to hospital discharge.

Importance: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurs in more than 6000 children each year in the United States, with survival rates of less than 10% and severe neurologic morbidity in many survivors. Post-cardiac arrest hypotension can occur, but its frequency and association with survival have not been well described during targeted temperature management., Objective: To determine whether hypotension is associated with survival to discharge in children and adolescents after resuscitation from OHCA., Design, Setting, and Participants: This post hoc secondary analysis of the Therapeutic Hypothermia After Pediatric Cardiac Arrest (THAPCA) trial included 292 pediatric patients older than 48 hours and younger than 18 years treated in 36 pediatric intensive care units from September 1, 2009, through December 31, 2012. Participants underwent therapeutic hypothermia (33.0°C) vs therapeutic normothermia (36.8°C) for 48 hours. All participants had hourly systolic blood pressure measurements documented during the initial 6 hours of temperature intervention. Hourly blood pressures beginning at the time of temperature intervention (time 0) were normalized for age, sex, and height. Early hypotension was defined as a systolic blood pressure less than the fifth percentile during the first 6 hours after temperature intervention. With use of forward stepwise logistic regression, covariates of interest (age, sex, initial cardiac rhythm, any preexisting condition, estimated duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], primary cause of cardiac arrest, temperature intervention group, night or weekend cardiac arrest, witnessed status, and bystander CPR) were evaluated in the final model. Data were analyzed from February 5, 2016, through June 13, 2017., Exposures: Hypotension., Main Outcomes and Measure: Survival to hospital discharge., Results: Of 292 children (194 boys [66.4%] and 98 girls [33.6%]; median age, 23.0 months [interquartile range, 5.0-105.0 months]), 78 (26.7%) had at least 1 episode of early hypotension. No difference was observed between the therapeutic hypothermia and therapeutic normothermia groups in the prevalence of hypotension during induction and maintenance (73 of 153 [47.7%] vs 72 of 139 [51.8%]; P = .50) or rewarming (35 of 118 [29.7%] vs 19 of 95 [20.0%]; P = .10) during the first 72 hours. Participants who had early hypotension were less likely to survive to hospital discharge (20 of 78 [25.6%] vs 93 of 214 [43.5%]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.20-0.74)., Conclusions and Relevance: In this post hoc secondary analysis of the THAPCA trial, 26.7% of participants had hypotension within 6 hours after temperature intervention. Early post-cardiac arrest hypotension was associated with lower odds of discharge survival, even after adjusting for covariates of interest.

Importance: There are few data on the prevalence or outcome of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) in children 18 years and younger., Objective: To characterize BCPR in pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs)., Design, Setting, and Participants: This analysis of the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival database investigated nontraumatic OHCAs in children 18 years and younger from January 2013 through December 2015., Exposures: Bystander CPR, which included conventional CPR and compression-only CPR., Main Outcomes and Measures: Overall survival and neurologically favorable survival, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 or 2, at the time of hospital discharge., Results: Of the 3900 children younger than 18 years with OHCA, 2317 (59.4%) were infants, 2346 (60.2%) were female, and 3595 (92.2%) had nonshockable rhythms. Bystander CPR was performed on 1814 children (46.5%) and was more common for white children (687 of 1221 [56.3%]) compared with African American children (447 of 1134 [39.4%]) and Hispanic children (197 of 455 [43.3%]) (P < .001). Overall survival and neurologically favorable survival were 11.3% (440 of 3900) and 9.1% (354 of 3900), respectively. On multivariable analysis, BCPR was independently associated with improved overall survival (adjusted proportion, 13.2%; 95% CI, 11.81-14.58; adjusted odds ratio, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.25-1.96) and neurologically favorable survival (adjusted proportion, 10.3%; 95% CI, 9.10-11.54; adjusted odds ratio, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.21-1.98) compared with no BCPR (overall survival: adjusted proportion, 9.5%; 95% CI, 8.28-10.69; neurologically favorable survival: adjusted proportion, 7.59%; 95% CI, 6.50-8.68). For those with data on type of BCPR, 697 of 1411 (49.4%) received conventional CPR and 714 of 1411 (50.6%) received compression-only CPR. On multivariable analysis, only conventional CPR (adjusted proportion, 12.89%; 95% CI, 10.69-15.09; adjusted odds ratio, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.51-2.79) was associated with improved neurologically favorable survival compared with no BCPR (adjusted proportion, 9.59%; 95% CI, 6.45-8.61). There was a significant interaction of BCPR with age. Among infants, conventional BCPR was associated with improved overall survival and neurologically favorable survival while compression-only CPR had similar outcomes to no BCPR., Conclusions and Relevance: Bystander CPR is associated with improved outcomes in pediatric OHCAs. Improving the provision of BCPR in minority communities and increasing the use of conventional BCPR may improve outcomes for children with OHCA.

Importance: Nearly 6000 hospitalized children in the United States receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) annually. Little is known about whether the survival of these children is influenced by the time of the event (eg, nighttime or weekends). Differences in survival could have important implications for hospital staffing, training, and resource allocation., Objective: To determine whether outcomes after pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrests differ during nights and weekends compared with days/evenings and weekdays., Design, Setting, and Participants: This study included a total of 354 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry from January 1, 2000, to December 12, 2012. Index cases (12 404 children) from all children younger than 18 years of age receiving CPR for at least 2 minutes were included. Data analysis was performed in December 2014 and June 2016. We aggregated hourly blocks of time, using previously defined time intervals of day/evening and night, as well as weekend. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of independent variables on survival to hospital discharge. We used a combination of a priori variables based on previous literature (including age, first documented rhythm, location of event in hospital, extracorporeal CPR, and hypotension as the cause of arrest), as well as variables that were identified in bivariate generalized estimating equation models, and maintained significance of P ≤ .15 in the final multivariable models., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was survival to hospital discharge, and secondary outcomes included return of circulation lasting more than 20 minutes and 24-hour survival., Results: Of 12 404 children (56.0% were male), 8731 (70.4%) experienced a return of circulation lasting more than 20 minutes, 7248 (58.4%) survived for 24 hours, and 4488 (36.2%) survived to hospital discharge. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that the rate of survival to hospital discharge was lower during nights than during days/evenings (adjusted odds ratio, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.80-0.97]; P = .007) but was not different between weekends and weekdays (adjusted odds ratio, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.84-1.01]; P = .09)., Conclusions and Relevance: The rate of survival to hospital discharge was lower for pediatric CPR events occurring at night than for CPR events occurring during daytime and evening hours, even after adjusting for many potentially confounding patient-, event-, and hospital-related factors.

Importance: Tracheal intubation is common during pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest, although the relationship between intubation during cardiac arrest and outcomes is unknown., Objective: To determine if intubation during pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest is associated with improved outcomes., Design, Setting, and Participants: Observational study of data from United States hospitals in the Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry. Pediatric patients (<18 years) with index in-hospital cardiac arrest between January 2000 and December 2014 were included. Patients who were receiving assisted ventilation, had an invasive airway in place, or both at the time chest compressions were initiated were excluded., Exposures: Tracheal intubation during cardiac arrest ., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation and neurologic outcome. A favorable neurologic outcome was defined as a score of 1 to 2 on the pediatric cerebral performance category score. Patients being intubated at any given minute were matched with patients at risk of being intubated within the same minute (ie, still receiving resuscitation) based on a time-dependent propensity score calculated from multiple patient, event, and hospital characteristics., Results: The study included 2294 patients; 1308 (57%) were male, and all age groups were represented (median age, 7 months [25th-75th percentiles, 21 days, 4 years]). Of the 2294 included patients, 1555 (68%) were intubated during the cardiac arrest. In the propensity score-matched cohort (n = 2270), survival was lower in those intubated compared with those not intubated (411/1135 [36%] vs 460/1135 [41%]; risk ratio [RR], 0.89 [95% CI, 0.81-0.99]; P = .03). There was no significant difference in return of spontaneous circulation (770/1135 [68%] vs 771/1135 [68%]; RR, 1.00 [95% CI, 0.95-1.06]; P = .96) or favorable neurologic outcome (185/987 [19%] vs 211/983 [21%]; RR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.75-1.02]; P = .08) between those intubated and not intubated. The association between intubation and decreased survival was observed in the majority of the sensitivity and subgroup analyses, including when accounting for missing data and in a subgroup of patients with a pulse at the beginning of the event., Conclusions and Relevance: Among pediatric patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest, tracheal intubation during cardiac arrest compared with no intubation was associated with decreased survival to hospital discharge. Although the study design does not eliminate the potential for confounding, these findings do not support the current emphasis on early tracheal intubation for pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Importance: Therapeutic hypothermia is used for patients following both out-of-hospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest. However, randomized trials on its efficacy for the in-hospital setting do not exist, and comparative effectiveness data are limited., Objective: To evaluate the association between therapeutic hypothermia and survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest., Design, Setting, and Patients: In this cohort study, within the national Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry, 26 183 patients successfully resuscitated from an in-hospital cardiac arrest between March 1, 2002, and December 31, 2014, and either treated or not treated with hypothermia at 355 US hospitals were identified. Follow-up ended February 4, 2015., Exposure: Induction of therapeutic hypothermia., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. The secondary outcome was favorable neurological survival, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 or 2 (ie, without severe neurological disability). Comparisons were performed using a matched propensity score analysis and examined for all cardiac arrests and separately for nonshockable (asystole and pulseless electrical activity) and shockable (ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia) cardiac arrests., Results: Overall, 1568 of 26 183 patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (6.0%) were treated with therapeutic hypothermia; 1524 of these patients (mean [SD] age, 61.6 [16.2] years; 58.5% male) were matched by propensity score to 3714 non-hypothermia-treated patients (mean [SD] age, 62.2 [17.5] years; 57.1% male). After adjustment, therapeutic hypothermia was associated with lower in-hospital survival (27.4% vs 29.2%; relative risk [RR], 0.88 [95% CI, 0.80 to 0.97]; risk difference, -3.6% [95% CI, -6.3% to -0.9%]; P = .01), and this association was similar (interaction P = .74) for nonshockable cardiac arrest rhythms (22.2% vs 24.5%; RR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.76 to 0.99]; risk difference, -3.2% [95% CI, -6.2% to -0.3%]) and shockable cardiac arrest rhythms (41.3% vs 44.1%; RR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.77 to 1.05]; risk difference, -4.6% [95% CI, -10.9% to 1.7%]). Therapeutic hypothermia was also associated with lower rates of favorable neurological survival for the overall cohort (hypothermia-treated group, 17.0% [246 of 1443 patients]; non-hypothermia-treated group, 20.5% [725 of 3529 patients]; RR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.69 to 0.90]; risk difference, -4.4% [95% CI, -6.8% to -2.0%]; P < .001) and for both rhythm types (interaction P = .88)., Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest, use of therapeutic hypothermia compared with usual care was associated with a lower likelihood of survival to hospital discharge and a lower likelihood of favorable neurological survival. These observational findings warrant a randomized clinical trial to assess efficacy of therapeutic hypothermia for in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Importance: Survival rates after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) vary significantly among US centers; whether this variation is owing to differences in IHCA care quality is unknown., Objective: To evaluate hospital-level variation to determine whether hospital process composite performance measures of IHCA care quality are associated with patient outcomes., Design, Setting, and Participants: Using data from the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation (GWTG-R) program, we analyzed 35 283 patients 18 years or older with IHCA treated at 261 US hospitals from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2012. We calculated the hospital process composite performance score for IHCA using 5 guideline-recommended process measures. Opportunity-based scores were calculated for all patients, aggregated at the hospital level, divided into quartiles, and then associated with risk-standardized survival and neurologic status by a test for trend. The scores were then evaluated through hierarchical logistic regression and reported as odds ratios per 10% increment in hospital process composite performance., Interventions: Acute care treatments for IHCA., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to discharge measured as risk standard survival rates, and the secondary outcome was favorable neurologic status at hospital discharge., Results: Of the 35 283 adults included in this study, the median age was 67 years (interquartile range [IQR] 56-78 years), and 57.9% were male. The median IHCA hospital process composite performance was 89.7% (interquartile range, 85.4%-93.1%) and varied among hospital quartiles from 82.6% (lowest) to 94.8% (highest). The IHCA hospital process composite performance was linearly associated with risk-standardized hospital survival to discharge rates: 21.1%, 21.4%, 22.8%, and 23.4% from lowest to highest performance quartiles, respectively (P < .001). After adjustment, each 10% increase in a hospital's process composite performance was associated with a 22% higher odds of survival (adjusted odds ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.08-1.37; P = .01). Hospital process composite quality performance was also associated with favorable neurologic status at discharge (P = .004)., Conclusions and Relevance: The quality of guideline-based care for IHCA varies significantly among US hospitals and is associated with patient survival and neurologic outcomes.

Importance: Delay in administration of the first epinephrine dose is associated with decreased survival among adults after in-hospital, nonshockable cardiac arrest. Whether this association is true in the pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest population remains unknown., Objective: To determine whether time to first epinephrine dose is associated with outcomes in pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest., Design, Setting and Participants: We performed an analysis of data from the Get With the Guidelines-Resuscitation registry. We included US pediatric patients (age <18 years) with an in-hospital cardiac arrest and an initial nonshockable rhythm who received at least 1 dose of epinephrine. A total of 1558 patients (median age, 9 months [interquartile range [IQR], 13 days-5 years]) were included in the final cohort., Exposure: Time to epinephrine, defined as time in minutes from recognition of loss of pulse to the first dose of epinephrine., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival at 24 hours, and neurological outcome. A favorable neurological outcome was defined as a score of 1 to 2 on the Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category scale., Results: Among the 1558 patients, 487 (31.3%) survived to hospital discharge. The median time to first epinephrine dose was 1 minute (IQR, 0-4; range, 0-20; mean [SD], 2.6 [3.4] minutes). Longer time to epinephrine administration was associated with lower risk of survival to discharge in multivariable analysis (multivariable-adjusted risk ratio [RR] per minute delay, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.93-0.98]). Longer time to epinephrine administration was also associated with decreased risk of ROSC (multivariable-adjusted RR per minute delay, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.96-0.99]), decreased risk of survival at 24 hours (multivariable-adjusted RR per minute delay, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.95-0.99]), and decreased risk of survival with favorable neurological outcome (multivariable-adjusted RR per minute delay, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.91-0.99]). Patients with time to epinephrine administration of longer than 5 minutes (233/1558) compared with those with time to epinephrine of 5 minutes or less (1325/1558) had lower risk of in-hospital survival to discharge (21.0% [49/233] vs 33.1% [438/1325]; multivariable-adjusted RR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.60-0.93]; P = .01)., Conclusions and Relevance: Among children with in-hospital cardiac arrest with an initial nonshockable rhythm who received epinephrine, delay in administration of epinephrine was associated with decreased chance of survival to hospital discharge, ROSC, 24-hour survival, and survival to hospital discharge with a favorable neurological outcome.

Importance: Functional status assessment methods are important as outcome measures for pediatric critical care studies., Objective: To investigate the relationships between the 2 functional status assessment methods appropriate for large-sample studies, the Functional Status Scale (FSS) and the Pediatric Overall Performance Category and Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (POPC/PCPC) scales., Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective cohort study with random patient selection at 7 sites and 8 children's hospitals with general/medical and cardiac/cardiovascular pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. Participants included all PICU patients younger than 18 years., Main Outcomes and Measures: Functional Status Scale and POPC/PCPC scores determined at PICU admission (baseline) and PICU discharge. We investigated the association between the baseline and PICU discharge POPC/PCPC scores and the baseline and PICU discharge FSS scores, the dispersion of FSS scores within each of the POPC/PCPC ratings, and the relationship between the FSS neurologic components (FSS-CNS) and the PCPC., Results: We included 5017 patients. We found a significant (P < .001) difference between FSS scores in each POPC or PCPC interval, with an FSS score increase with each worsening POPC/PCPC rating. The FSS scores for the good and mild disability POPC/PCPC ratings were similar and increased by 2 to 3 points for the POPC/PCPC change from mild to moderate disability, 5 to 6 points for moderate to severe disability, and 8 to 9 points for severe disability to vegetative state or coma. The dispersion of FSS scores within each POPC and PCPC rating was substantial and increased with worsening POPC and PCPC scores. We also found a significant (P < .001) difference between the FSS-CNS scores between each of the PCPC ratings with increases in the FSS-CNS score for each higher PCPC rating., Conclusions and Relevance: The FSS and POPC/PCPC system are closely associated. Increases in FSS scores occur with each higher POPC and PCPC rating and with greater magnitudes of change as the dysfunction severity increases. However, the dispersion of the FSS scores indicated a lack of precision in the POPC/PCPC system when compared with the more objective and granular FSS. The relationship between the PCPC and the FSS-CNS paralleled the relationship between the FSS and POPC/PCPC system.

Context: Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, but data on their effectiveness in hospitalized patients are limited., Objective: To evaluate the association between AED use and survival for in-hospital cardiac arrest., Design, Setting, and Patients: Cohort study of 11,695 hospitalized patients with cardiac arrests between January 1, 2000, and August 26, 2008, at 204 US hospitals following the introduction of AEDs on general hospital wards., Main Outcome Measure: Survival to hospital discharge by AED use, using multivariable hierarchical regression analyses to adjust for patient factors and hospital site., Results: Of 11,695 patients, 9616 (82.2%) had nonshockable rhythms (asystole and pulseless electrical activity) and 2079 (17.8%) had shockable rhythms (ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia). AEDs were used in 4515 patients (38.6%). Overall, 2117 patients (18.1%) survived to hospital discharge. Within the entire study population, AED use was associated with a lower rate of survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest compared with no AED use (16.3% vs 19.3%; adjusted rate ratio [RR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.92; P < .001). Among cardiac arrests due to nonshockable rhythms, AED use was associated with lower survival (10.4% vs 15.4%; adjusted RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.65-0.83; P < .001). In contrast, for cardiac arrests due to shockable rhythms, AED use was not associated with survival (38.4% vs 39.8%; adjusted RR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.88-1.13; P = .99). These patterns were consistently observed in both monitored and nonmonitored hospital units where AEDs were used, after matching patients to the individual units in each hospital where the cardiac arrest occurred, and with a propensity score analysis., Conclusion: Among hospitalized patients with cardiac arrest, use of AEDs was not associated with improved survival.

Context: Rapid response teams have been shown in adult inpatients to decrease cardiopulmonary arrest (code) rates outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). Because a primary action of rapid response teams is to transfer patients to the ICU, their ability to reduce hospital-wide code rates and mortality remains unknown., Objective: To determine rates of hospital-wide codes and mortality before and after implementation of a long-term rapid response team intervention., Design, Setting, and Patients: A prospective cohort design of adult inpatients admitted between January 1, 2004, and August 31, 2007, at Saint Luke's Hospital, a 404-bed tertiary care academic hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Rapid response team education and program rollout occurred from September 1 to December 31, 2005. A total of 24 193 patient admissions were evaluated prior to the intervention (January 1, 2004, to August 31, 2005), and 24 978 admissions were evaluated after the intervention (January 1, 2006, to August 31, 2007)., Intervention: Using standard activation criteria, a 3-member rapid response team composed of experienced ICU staff and a respiratory therapist performed the evaluation, treatment, and triage of inpatients with evidence of acute physiological decline., Main Outcome Measures: Hospital-wide code rates and mortality, adjusted for preintervention trends., Results: There were a total of 376 rapid response team activations. After rapid response team implementation, mean hospital-wide code rates decreased from 11.2 to 7.5 per 1000 admissions. This was not associated with a reduction in the primary end point of hospital-wide code rates (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.76 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.57-1.01]; P = .06), although lower rates of non-ICU codes were observed (non-ICU AOR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.40-0.89] vs ICU AOR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.64-1.43]; P = .03 for interaction). Similarly, hospital-wide mortality did not differ between the preintervention and postintervention periods (3.22 vs 3.09 per 100 admissions; AOR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.81-1.11]; P = .52). Secondary analyses revealed few instances of rapid response team undertreatment or underuse that may have affected the mortality findings., Conclusion: In this large single-institution study, rapid response team implementation was not associated with reductions in hospital-wide code rates or mortality.

Context: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major public health problem., Objective: To investigate whether the survival of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest would improve with minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR), an alternate emergency medical services (EMS) protocol., Design, Setting, and Patients: A prospective study of survival-to-hospital discharge between January 1, 2005, and November 22, 2007. Patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in 2 metropolitan cities in Arizona before and after MICR training of fire department emergency medical personnel were assessed. In a second analysis of protocol compliance, patients from the 2 metropolitan cities and 60 additional fire departments in Arizona who actually received MICR were compared with patients who did not receive MICR but received standard advanced life support., Intervention: Instruction for EMS personnel in MICR, an approach that includes an initial series of 200 uninterrupted chest compressions, rhythm analysis with a single shock, 200 immediate postshock chest compressions before pulse check or rhythm reanalysis, early administration of epinephrine, and delayed endotracheal intubation., Main Outcome Measure: Survival-to-hospital discharge., Results: Among the 886 patients in the 2 metropolitan cities, survival-to-hospital discharge increased from 1.8% (4/218) before MICR training to 5.4% (36/668) after MICR training (odds ratio [OR], 3.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-8.9). In the subgroup of 174 patients with witnessed cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation, survival increased from 4.7% (2/43) before MICR training to 17.6% (23/131) after MICR training (OR, 8.6; 95% CI, 1.8-42.0). In the analysis of MICR protocol compliance involving 2460 patients with cardiac arrest, survival was significantly better among patients who received MICR than those who did not (9.1% [60/661] vs 3.8% [69/1799]; OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.9-4.1), as well as patients with witnessed ventricular fibrillation (28.4% [40/141] vs 11.9% [46/387]; OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.0-5.8)., Conclusions: Survival-to-hospital discharge of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased after implementation of MICR as an alternate EMS protocol. These results need to be confirmed in a randomized trial.

Context: Occurrence of in-hospital cardiac arrest and survival patterns have not been characterized by time of day or day of week. Patient physiology and process of care for in-hospital cardiac arrest may be different at night and on weekends because of hospital factors unrelated to patient, event, or location variables., Objective: To determine whether outcomes after in-hospital cardiac arrest differ during nights and weekends compared with days/evenings and weekdays., Design and Setting: We examined survival from cardiac arrest in hourly time segments, defining day/evening as 7:00 am to 10:59 pm, night as 11:00 pm to 6:59 am, and weekend as 11:00 pm on Friday to 6:59 am on Monday, in 86,748 adult, consecutive in-hospital cardiac arrest events in the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation obtained from 507 medical/surgical participating hospitals from January 1, 2000, through February 1, 2007., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome of survival to discharge and secondary outcomes of survival of the event, 24-hour survival, and favorable neurological outcome were compared using odds ratios and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Point estimates of survival outcomes are reported as percentages with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs)., Results: A total of 58,593 cases of in-hospital cardiac arrest occurred during day/evening hours (including 43,483 on weekdays and 15,110 on weekends), and 28,155 cases occurred during night hours (including 20,365 on weekdays and 7790 on weekends). Rates of survival to discharge (14.7% [95% CI, 14.3%-15.1%] vs 19.8% [95% CI, 19.5%-20.1%], return of spontaneous circulation for longer than 20 minutes (44.7% [95% CI, 44.1%-45.3%] vs 51.1% [95% CI, 50.7%-51.5%]), survival at 24 hours (28.9% [95% CI, 28.4%-29.4%] vs 35.4% [95% CI, 35.0%-35.8%]), and favorable neurological outcomes (11.0% [95% CI, 10.6%-11.4%] vs 15.2% [95% CI, 14.9%-15.5%]) were substantially lower during the night compared with day/evening (all P values < .001). The first documented rhythm at night was more frequently asystole (39.6% [95% CI, 39.0%-40.2%] vs 33.5% [95% CI, 33.2%-33.9%], P < .001) and less frequently ventricular fibrillation (19.8% [95% CI, 19.3%-20.2%] vs 22.9% [95% CI, 22.6%-23.2%], P < .001). Among in-hospital cardiac arrests occurring during day/evening hours, survival was higher on weekdays (20.6% [95% CI, 20.3%-21%]) than on weekends (17.4% [95% CI, 16.8%-18%]; odds ratio, 1.15 [95% CI, 1.09-1.22]), whereas among in-hospital cardiac arrests occurring during night hours, survival to discharge was similar on weekdays (14.6% [95% CI, 14.1%-15.2%]) and on weekends (14.8% [95% CI, 14.1%-15.2%]; odds ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.94-1.11])., Conclusion: Survival rates from in-hospital cardiac arrest are lower during nights and weekends, even when adjusted for potentially confounding patient, event, and hospital characteristics.

Context: Cardiac arrests in adults are often due to ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), which are associated with better outcomes than asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA). Cardiac arrests in children are typically asystole or PEA., Objective: To test the hypothesis that children have relatively fewer in-hospital cardiac arrests associated with VF or pulseless VT compared with adults and, therefore, worse survival outcomes., Design, Setting, and Patients: A prospective observational study from a multicenter registry (National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) of cardiac arrests in 253 US and Canadian hospitals between January 1, 2000, and March 30, 2004. A total of 36,902 adults (> or =18 years) and 880 children (<18 years) with pulseless cardiac arrests requiring chest compressions, defibrillation, or both were assessed. Cardiac arrests occurring in the delivery department, neonatal intensive care unit, and in the out-of-hospital setting were excluded., Main Outcome Measure: Survival to hospital discharge., Results: The rate of survival to hospital discharge following pulseless cardiac arrest was higher in children than adults (27% [236/880] vs 18% [6485/36,902]; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.95-2.68). Of these survivors, 65% (154/236) of children and 73% (4737/6485) of adults had good neurological outcome. The prevalence of VF or pulseless VT as the first documented pulseless rhythm was 14% (120/880) in children and 23% (8361/36,902) in adults (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.44-0.65; P<.001). The prevalence of asystole was 40% (350) in children and 35% (13 024) in adults (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.10-1.40; P = .006), whereas the prevalence of PEA was 24% (213) in children and 32% (11,963) in adults (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.57-0.78; P<.001). After adjustment for differences in preexisting conditions, interventions in place at time of arrest, witnessed and/or monitored status, time to defibrillation of VF or pulseless VT, intensive care unit location of arrest, and duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, only first documented pulseless arrest rhythm remained significantly associated with differential survival to discharge (24% [135/563] in children vs 11% [2719/24,987] in adults with asystole and PEA; adjusted OR, 2.73; 95% CI, 2.23-3.32)., Conclusions: In this multicenter registry of in-hospital cardiac arrest, the first documented pulseless arrest rhythm was typically asystole or PEA in both children and adults. Because of better survival after asystole and PEA, children had better outcomes than adults despite fewer cardiac arrests due to VF or pulseless VT.

We review the herniography experience at a community hospital. Twenty-nine patients, aged 4 weeks to 6 years, were examined. Herniography was most often helpful (25 of 29 patients) in determining the need for exploration of the clinically normal side in the patient with a unilateral hernia. By herniography, patients with a right inguinal hernia were found to have a left sac in 47% of cases; whereas with a clinical left inguinal hernia, the incidence of right sacs was 67%. Herniography was also useful (four of 29 patients) as a diagnostic aid in children with a history of hernia but inconclusive physical findings. In all patients explored, the roentgenographic findings were confirmed at surgery.

Efficacy of an eight-week rotation in developmental and behavioral pediatrics for second-year pediatric residents was evaluated. Pretesting and posttesting disclosed that our residents felt more competent with biosocial problems, had more favorable attitudes toward patients with biosocial problems, and had increased factual knowledge in developmental and behavioral pediatrics. When reevaluated 12 to 24 months after rotation as third-year residents (PL-3), they performed better on a factual knowledge test than a PL-3 control group that had not had the rotation. They also felt more competent than the controls in the diagnosis and treatment of children with learning disabilities, hyperactivity, physical handicaps, depression, and gynecologic problems.

An emergency infusion of catecholamines into the bone marrow of a 6-month-old infant was performed. We believe this is the first report of continuous intraosseous infusion of dopamine hydrochloride and dobutamine hydrochloride. Intraosseous infusions are efficacious and complications are rare. We recommend use of this technique in emergency circumstances when venous access cannot be obtained.

Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is a progressive, spinocerebellar degenerative disease. Onset is generally in the second decade of life, occurring as a neurologic degenerative process. Most, if not all, patients have an associated cardiomyopathy, which is frequently the cause of death. We studied two siblings who had FA with acute cardiomyopathy at 3 and 5 years of age, respectively, and in whom the classic nervous system signs developed, only later. The diagnosis of FA should be considered in patients of any age who have unexplained cardiomyopathy.