Introduction:
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a prevalent entity in patients with end
stage renal disease (ESRD). Nearly one quarter of deaths in this patient
population is attributed to SCA (1). The mortality rate after a SCA
event exceeds 52% in ESRD patients (2). ESRD patients are uniquely
prone to the development of SCA. Majority of these patients have left
ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) which provides an underlying substrate for
SCA perpetuation in settings of rapid fluid and electrolyte fluctuations
during dialysis sessions (3,4,5,6). ESRD patients also require frequent
hospitalizations due to associated co-morbid conditions (7). Recent
evidence points to improved outcomes in patients with in-hospital SCA
over the past two decades (8). Limited data, however, exit in the
context of ESRD patients after in-hospital SCA and whether these
improved outcomes have also been witnessed in this patient population
are currently unknown. In this paper, we aimed to study baseline
characteristics, trends and outcomes of ESRD patients after they
sustained in-hospital SCA from a nationally representative contemporary
cohort of US population.