Trends in Incidences and Survival Rates in Pediatric In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Korean Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND: Although the outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is still unsatisfactory, there are few studies about temporal trends of in-hospital CPR incidence and mortality. We aimed to evaluate nationwide trends of in-hospital CPR incidence and its associated risk factors and mortality in pediatric patients using a database of the Korean National Health Insurance between 2012 and 2018. METHODS AND RESULTS: We excluded neonates and neonatal intensive care unit admissions. Incidence of in-hospital pediatric CPR was 0.58 per 1000 admissions (3165 CPR/5 429 471 admissions), and the associated mortality was 50.4%. Change in CPR incidence according to year was not significant in an adjusted analysis (P=0.234). However, CPR mortality increased significantly by 6.6% every year in an adjusted analysis (P<0.001). Hospitals supporting pediatric critical care showed 37.7% lower odds of CPR incidence (P<0.001) and 27.5% lower odds of mortality compared with other hospitals in the adjusted analysis (P<0.001), and they did not show an increase in mortality (P for trend=0.882). CONCLUSIONS: Temporal trends of in-hospital CPR mortality worsened in Korea, and the trends differed according to sub-groups. Study results highlight the need for ongoing evaluation of CPR trends and for further CPR outcome improvement among hospitalized children.