Cardiopulmonary resuscitation of pregnant women in the emergency department

Abstract

Aim: Little is known about outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of pregnancy in women receiving CPR in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: We conducted a population-based, matched cohort study using the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) from 2006 to 2010. A cohort of pregnant women receiving CPR in the ED was compared to an age-matched cohort of non-pregnant women at a 1:10 ratio. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for variables of interest and survival.

Results: Among 8162 women requiring CPR in the ED, we identified 157 pregnant women. Pregnancy was associated with better overall survival of 36.9% compared to 25.9% in non-pregnant women, OR 1.89 (1.32-2.70), p < 0.01. Traumatic injury was identified as a significant predictor of outcome in pregnancy. In non-trauma patients, pregnant women had significantly better odds of surviving CPR than non-pregnant women, OR 2.10 (1.41-3.13), p < 0.01. In cases of trauma, no significant difference was observed between groups.

Conclusion: Although further studies are needed, CPR in pregnancy is associated with a better prognosis compared to non-pregnant women, with trauma status being a key factor predicting outcome in the pregnant patient.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Emergency service; Hospital; Pregnancy; Survival.