Racial differences in survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest

Abstract

Context: Racial differences in survival have not been previously studied after in-hospital cardiac arrest, an event for which access to care is not likely to influence treatment. Objectives: To estimate racial differences in survival for patients with in-hospital cardiac arrests and examine the association of sociodemographic and clinical factors and the admitting hospital with racial differences in survival. Design, Setting, and Patients: Cohort study of 10 011 patients with cardiac arrests due to ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia enrolled between January 1, 2000, and February 29, 2008, at 274 hospitals within the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Main Outcome Measures: Survival to hospital discharge; successful resuscitation from initial arrest and postresuscitation survival (secondary outcome measures). Results: Included were 1883 black patients (18.8%) and 8128 white patients (81.2%). Rates of survival to discharge were lower for black patients (25.2%) than for white patients (37.4%) (unadjusted relative rate [RR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-0.79). Unadjusted racial differences narrowed after adjusting for patient characteristics (adjusted RR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.75-0.88]; P