Impact of a cardiac intensivist on mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock.

Int J Cardiol

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Published: October 2017

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between high-intensity staffing by a dedicated cardiac intensivist and clinical outcomes in CS.

Methods: We enrolled 2923 consecutive patients admitted to a cardiac care unit (CCU) from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015. In January 2013, the CCU changed from a low-intensity to high-intensity staffing unit managed by a dedicated cardiac intensivist. Patients were eligible if they required inotropes or vasopressors to maintain a systolic blood pressure>90mmHg, and had serum lactate≥2.0mmol/L. Eligible patients (n=513) were treated by low-intensity CCU (n=352) or high-intensity CCU (n=161). The primary outcome was CCU mortality.

Results: CCU mortality occurred in 49 patients (30.6%) of the low-intensity group versus 62 patients (17.6%) of the high-intensity group (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25-0.75, p<0.001). In-hospital mortality was not significantly different between the groups (33.1% vs 24.4%, aOR 0.75, 95% CI 0.43-1.29, p=0.29). Among 135 patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, the high-intensity model was associated with lower CCU mortality (54.5% vs 22.5%, aOR 0.24, 95% CI 0.07-0.77, p=0.02) and in-hospital mortality (57.6% vs 29.4%, aOR 0.28, 95% CI 0.10-0.81, p=0.02).

Conclusion: High-intensity staffed CCU managed by a dedicated cardiac intensivist was associated with a significant reduction of CS-related mortality.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.06.082DOI Listing

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