Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Timing and mode of death after pediatric in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a single center retrospective study
Authors' conclusion
Following an IHCA, non-survivors more frequently died from circulatory failure, including WLST-CV or recurrent arrest, while OHCA non-survivors more frequently died from neurologic injury, including DNC and WLST-N. Children who had an IHCA died later after their arrest than those who had an OHCA.
Study context
- Population
- Children admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) after in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) or out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) who died before discharge, January 2017 to March 2023non-survivors of 746
- Participants
- 260 children
- Exposure
- In-hospital vs out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
- IHCAn = 155
- OHCAn = 105reference
- Outcome
- Mode of death (DNC, WLST, recurrent arrest, recurrent arrest/DNAR) and reasons for WLST
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Mode of death
| Group | Death by neurologic criteria (DNC) | Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies (WLST) | Recurrent arrest | Recurrent arrest/DNAR | WLST-CV (of WLST) | WLST-N (of WLST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IHCA | 8 (5%) | 87 (56%) | 33 (21%) | 27 (18%) | 40/87 [46%] | |
| OHCA | 51 (49%) | 38 (36%) | 8 (7.5%) | 8 (7.5%) | 32/38 [84%] |
Death by neurologic criteria (DNC)
IHCA8 (5%)
OHCA51 (49%)
Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies (WLST)
IHCA87 (56%)
OHCA38 (36%)
Recurrent arrest
IHCA33 (21%)
OHCA8 (7.5%)
Recurrent arrest/DNAR
IHCA27 (18%)
OHCA8 (7.5%)
WLST-CV (of WLST)
IHCA40/87 [46%]
OHCANot reported in the abstract
WLST-N (of WLST)
IHCANot reported in the abstract
OHCA32/38 [84%]
- IHCA vs OHCA: P < 0.001 — less likely to die from DNC
- IHCA vs OHCA: P < 0.001 — more often WLST-CV
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Time to death · longer with IHCA | P = 0.03 |
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Timing and mode of death after pediatric in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a single center retrospective study. Resuscitation. Published 19 November 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it