• Ilana Sebbag, Maria José Carvalho Carmona, Maria Margarita Castro Gonzalez, Hermes Marcel Alcântara, Rolison Gustavo Bravo Lelis, Flavia de Oliveira Toledo, Gustavo Fábio Aranha, Rafael Ximenes do Prado Nuzzi, and José Otávio Costa Auler.
• Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital das Clínicas, Instituto Central, São PauloBrazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2013 Jan 1; 131 (5): 309314309-14.

Context And ObjectiveAlthough advances in surgical and anesthetic techniques have reduced perioperative morbidity-mortality, the survival rate following cardiac arrest remains low. The aim of this study was to evaluate, over the course of one year, the prevalence of intraoperative cardiac arrest and the 30-day survival rate after this event in a tertiary teaching hospital.Design And SettingProspective cohort study in a tertiary teaching hospital.MethodsFollowing approval by the institutional ethics committee, anesthetic procedures and cases of intraoperative cardiac arrest between January and December 2007 were evaluated. Patients undergoing cardiac surgery were excluded. The data were gathered prospectively using the modified Utstein model, with evaluation of demographic data, pre-arrest conditions, intraoperative care, care during arrest and postoperative outcome up to the 30th day. The data were recorded by the attending anesthesiologist.ResultsDuring the study period, 40,379 anesthetic procedures were performed, and 52 cases of intraoperative cardiac arrest occurred (frequency of 13:10,000). Among these, 69% presented spontaneous return of circulation after the initial arrest, and only 25% survived for 30 days after the event. The following factors were associated with shorter survival: American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status IV and V, emergency surgery, hemorrhagic events, hypovolemia as the cause of arrest and use of atropine during resuscitation.ConclusionsAlthough the frequency of cardiac arrest in the surgical environment has declined and resources to attend to this exist, the survival rate is low. Factors associated with worst prognosis are more frequent in critical patients.

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