Abstract 14218: Post-Cardiac Arrest Care Delivery Varies Widely Across Institutions Belonging to the PediRES-Q Collaborative
Introduction: Despite national pediatric post-cardiac arrest care (PCAC) guidelines to improve survival and neurological outcomes, there are limited studies describing PCAC delivery in pediatric institutions. The objective of this study was to describe reported PCAC delivery in pediatric institutions. We hypothesized that there would be variability in PCAC processes across institutions. Methods: An IRB-approved REDCap survey was distributed electronically to the lead resuscitation investigator at each institution belonging to the international Pediatric Resuscitation Quality Improvement collaborative (PediRES-Q). Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. A chi-square test was used to compare categorical data. Results: Twenty-four of 47 centers completed the survey (51%). Most respondents (58%) belonged to large centers (≥1000 annual PICU admissions). Two-third (67%) of centers reported using no specific selection criteria to initiate PCAC with the other third employing order sets, paper forms, or institutional guidelines. Smaller centers (<1000 annual PICU admissions) more frequently reported the use of attending-directed care for PCAC initiation/delivery (80%) versus larger centers (57%), p = 0.04. Common PCAC targets included temperature (96%), glucose (75%), and age-based blood pressure (88%). Most PCAC included EEG (75%) but neuroimaging was only included at 46% of centers. Duration of PCAC was either tailored to clinical improvement and neurological exam (54%) or time-based (45%). Only 25% of centers reported having a mechanism for evaluating PCAC adherence. Common barriers to effective PCAC implementation included lack of time and limited training opportunities (Figure 1). Conclusions: There is wide variation in PCAC delivery among surveyed pediatric institutions. Targeting common themes such as standardization of PCAC initiation and bundle components and implementing adherence evaluation could improve PCAC.