LAUSR

Background: Obesity is increasing in New Zealand and the efficacy of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) using manikins is diminished with increasing body mass index (BMI) The objective was to investigate the outcomes of cardiac arrest in Nelson Hospital throughout 2016 and 2017, comparing outcomes with BMI and taking into account cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) Method: A retrospective review of electronic and paper patient records, coded for cardiac arrest presentations to the Nelson Hospital Emergency Department during the study timeframe, was performed Outcomes and CVRF were obtained and analysed Results: 53 cardiac arrests were identified, 2 were incorrectly coded and 2 were duplicate records Of the 49 records analysed, 16 cardiac arrests were due to acute myocardial infarction Complete BMI data was available for 24 patients and 10 of these had a BMI greater than 30 Of these, 4 died during admission at an average age of 46 5 years, with an average of 1 25 CVRF compared to 2 5 in survivors 14 patients had a BMI of 18 5-29 9 with an average age of 74 years, and of these, 3 died during admission with an average of 2 6 CVRF compared to 2 8 in survivors Conclusion: Cardiac arrests and biometric data are not well documented at Nelson Hospital and improved methods of capturing data are required Obese patients were less likely to survive cardiac arrest at a younger age with fewer CVRF, compared to patients with a BMI of 18 5-29 9 This may assist future resuscitation discussions