Incidence and Prognosis of Sustained Arrhythmias in Critically Ill Patients

Rationale: Sustained arrhythmias are common in postoperative and cardiac intensive care units (ICUs), but their incidence and prognosis in general ICUs have never been reported.Objectives: To estimate the incidence and prognosis of sustained arrhythmias in a general ICU population.Methods: Prospective, multicenter, 1-month inception cohort study.Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1,341 patients were included: 12% (163/1,341) had sustained arrhythmias, including 8% (113/1,341) and 2% (30/1,341) with supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, respectively, and 2% (30/1,341) with conduction abnormalities. In-hospital death rates were 17% (205/1,178) in patients without arrhythmia and 29% (33/113) in patients with supraventricular arrhythmias (odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–3.01), 73% (22/30) in patients with ventricular arrhythmias (OR, 13.20; 95% CI, 5.79–30.10), and 60% (18/30) in patients with conduction abnormalities (OR, 7.46; 95% CI, 3.52–15.82). Neurological sequel...