To study characteristics and outcomes among patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) due to pulmonary aspiration.
A retrospective observational study based on data from the Swedish Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCR).
The SRCR is a nationwide quality registry that covers 96% of all Swedish hospitals. Participating hospitals vary in size from secondary hospitals to university hospitals.
The study included patients registered in the SRCR in the period 2008 to 2017. We compared patients with IHCA caused by pulmonary aspiration (n=127), to those with IHCA caused by respiratory failure of other causes (n=2197).
Primary outcome was 30-day survival. Secondary outcome was sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) defined as ROSC at the scene and admitted alive to the intensive care unit.
In the aspiration group 80% of IHCA occurred on general wards, as compared with 63.6% in the respiratory failure group (p