[Organ Donation in Victims of Non-Traumatic Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest]. / Organspende bei Patienten nach nicht traumatischem außerklinischem Herzstillstand.

INTRODUCTION: The out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest (OHCA) is one of the leading causes of death. However, although previous studies showed the possibility to transplant organs from resuscitated donors, organ donation following OHCA remains seldom. We therefore initiated this study to investigate the current percentage of organ donation in victims of OHCA in a german university hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed data from all victims of OHCA who were admitted to our hospital between January 1st 2008 and May 31st 2017. RESULTS: Altogether, there were 385 victims of OHCA admitted to our hospital. 126 victims of OHCA (32.8 %) survived until hospital discharge, 259 died (67.2 %), hereunder 7 victims of OHCA (1.8 %) with proven brain death. 5 victims of OCHA (1.5 %) donated their organs, and altogether 14 organs could be transplanted successfully. DISCUSSION: Organ donation following OHCA is seldom. We therefore would appreciate a more frequent diagnostics of brain death as currently not even all victims of OHCA with proven signs of brain damage in the computed tomography receive further diagnostics to confirm the diagnosis of brain death.

[Relevance of Living Wills During Post-Resuscitation Care]. / Stellenwert der Patientenverfügung in der Postreanimationsbehandlung.

Background There is hardly any evidence about the influence of living wills on acute life-threatening disease like out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest (OHCA). We therefore initiated this study to quantify the percentage of victims of OHCA who's living wills are available during post-resuscitation care. Methods All victims of OHCA who were admitted to our hospital between January 1st 2008 and July 31th 2016 were identified by analysis of our central admission register. Data from individual patients were collected from the patient's health records and anonymously stored on a central database. Results Altogether, there were 343 victims of OHCA admitted to our hospital between January 1st 2008 and July 31th 2016, including 16 patients (4.7 %) with living wills and 18 patients (5.2 %) with legal health care proxy. Survival rates were 31.2 % in patients with living wills, 27.8 % in patients with legal health care proxy and 33.3 % in patients without such a document. Conclusion In this study, the percentage of victims of OHCA with available living wills during post-resuscitation care was low. The presentation of living wills or legal health care proxies during post-resuscitation care of victims from OHCA was not equivalent to the patient`s death. Most often, discussion with relatives led to the decision to withdraw further therapy.