Cessation of CPR

OVERVIEW

This page was originally developed from an approach inspired by Dr Trevor Jackson

Most resuscitation attempts are unsuccessful — we need to know when to stop.

The decision to stop CPR should be tailored according to the specifics of the individual case and is based on clinical judgement
The decision is best made by the Team Leader in consultation with other team members
Always maintain initial resuscitation efforts until adequate information is available to make the call to discontinue

However, selected patients potentially have good outcomes with prolonged, aggressive resuscitation (see ‘when not to stop’)

KEY DETERMINANTS OF SURVIVAL

Survival from cardiac arrest is highly dependent on time to defibrillation and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) unless a primary reversible cause is present
Survival to discharge from out-of-hospital arrest (OOHA) is minimal if the initial rhythm on arrival in ED is asystole or agonal
— if asystole -> always check leads, gain settings and connections
— Asystole for 20 minutes is generally considered non-survivable
Advanced age is not an independent predictor of survival

KEY QUESTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS

Key questions:

was arrest observed?
what was the initial rhythm?
cardiac vs non-cardiac cause? (better survival in cardiac group in OOHA)
time to CPR?
time to defibrillation?
time to ROSC?

A more detailed approach involves consideration of:

Factors related to circumstances of arrest
Prehospital measures and response
In hospital measures and response

CIRCUMSTANCES OF ARREST

Premorbid medical state, e.g. cancer, advanced dementia, etc
Advanced directive?
Time of arrest (or when ambulance service notifed / Code Blue called)?
Time until resus commenced?
Time to first shock?
Time to ROSC (if occured pre-hospital)?
Witnessed/unwitnessed?
Effective bystander CPR?
Rhythm on ambulance arrival?

PREHOSPITAL MEASURES AND RESPONSE

Number of shocks?
Intubated?
ROSC? Rhythm changes?
(Progressing from initial non-shockable rhythms to a shockable rhythm is associated with improved outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest)
Any other measures, ACLS drugs?
Time since arrest

IN HOSPITAL MEASURES AND RESPONSE

Any reversal factors requiring treatment? (i.e. 4Hs and 4Ts)
Number of shocks?
Intubated?
Drugs given according to ACLS guidelines
ROSC? Rhythm changes?
ETCO2 readings > 10 mmHg?
(Persistently low PETCO2 values (<10 mm Hg) during CPR in intubated patients after 20 mins has essentially zero survival)
Bedside echo findings – any cardiac activity?
(in a systematic review by Blyth et al, 2011 as many as 15.7% (lower 95% CI on sensitivity) of patients experienced ROSC despite a lack of cardiac activity on ultrasound)
Any other measures?
Time since arrest?

WHEN TO CEASE CPR

A general approach is to stop CPR after 20 minutes if there is no ROSC or viable cardiac rhythm re-established, and no reversible factors present that would potentially alter outcome.

Reasons to cease CPR generally include:

ROSC
- resuscitation guidelines require 2 min of CPR post defibrillation prior to checking for ROSC; may be identified by an upsurge in ETCO2
pre-existing chronic illness preventing meaningful recovery
- ie. nursing home resident with dementia, disseminated cancer
acute illness preventing recovery
- ie. 100% burns, non-survivable injuries, catastrophic TBI with no brain stem reflexes
no response to ACLS after 20min of efficient resuscitation in absence of ROSC, a shockable rhythm or reversible causes

In the prehospital setting a validated rule has been described by Morrison et al (2006):

Stop CPR if:
- no return of spontaneous circulation
- no shocks are administered, and
- the arrest is not witnessed by emergency medical-services personnel
Otherwise, the rule recommends transportation to the hospital, in accordance with routine practice

Other special situations:

in a newly born baby with no detectable heart rate that remains undetectable for 10 minutes, it is appropriate to consider stopping resuscitation
traumatic arrest (perform emergency thoracotomy if appropriate; closed-chest CPR is ineffective)
when rescuers are exhausted (in the prehospital setting)
If the patient is irrefutably dead! (e.g. rigor mortis, decomposition, hemisection, decapitation)

Remember – stop CPR after the second “ouch.”
— tweeted by Joe Lex at SMACC

WHEN NOT TO STOP

More prolonged resuscitation is generally required in these settings:

continue in young people who have persistent VF until reversible factors have been fixed (see also Electrical storm) or therapeutic options exhausted
hypothermia (“not dead until warm and dead”)
asthma (need to correct dynamic hyperinflation)
toxicological arrest (full neurological recovery after >4 hours CPR is possible; asystole may be a direct drug effect that will recover in time)
thrombolytics given during CPR (should continue up to 2 hours post-administration)
pregnancy prior to resuscitative caesarean section

At The Alfred ICU about 50% of patients who meet the criteria below have excellent neurological outcomes when treated with a combination of mechanical CPR, intra-arrest cooling, ECPR and early cardiac catheterisation (CHEER trial):

no ROSC at 30 minutes
bystander CPR with initial rhythm VF/VT
age <65 years
no known significant comorbidities

Journal articles

Larkin GL. Termination of resuscitation: the art of clinical decision making. Curr Opin Crit Care. 2002 Jun;8(3):224-9. Review. PMID: 12386501.
Morrison LJ, Visentin LM, Kiss A, Theriault R, Eby D, Vermeulen M, Sherbino J, Verbeek PR; TOR Investigators. Validation of a rule for termination of resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. N Engl J Med. 2006 Aug 3;355(5):478-87. PMID: 16885551. [Free Full Text]
Stub D, Bernard S, Pellegrino V, et al. Refractory cardiac arrest treated with mechanical CPR, hypothermia, ECMO and early reperfusion (the CHEER trial). Resuscitation. 86:88-94. 2015. [pubmed]

FOAM and web resources