Abstract
Aims
Cognitive bias has been recognized as a potential source of medical error as it may
affect clinical decision making. In this study, we explored how cognitive bias, specifically
left-digit bias, may affect patient outcomes in in-hospital cardiac arrest.
Methods
Using the Get With The Guidelines® – Resuscitation registry, we included adult patients
with an in-hospital cardiac arrest from 2011 to 2019. The primary outcome was survival
to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation,
favorable neurological outcome, and duration of resuscitation. Using a regression
discontinuity design, we explored whether there was a sudden change in survival at
the age threshold of 80 years which would indicate left-digit bias. Additional analyses
were performed at age thresholds of 60, 70, and 90 years.
Results
A total of 26,784 patients were included for the primary analysis. The overall survival
was 22% in this cohort. There was no discontinuity of survival below and above the
age of 80 years (risk difference, 0.47%; 95%CI, −1.61% to 2.56%). Similar results
were estimated for the secondary outcomes and for the age thresholds of 60, 70, and
90 years. The results were consistent in sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions
There was no indication that cognitive bias based on age affected outcomes in in-hospital
cardiac arrest in these data.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 11, 2021
Accepted:
January 13,
2021
Received in revised form:
January 7,
2021
Received:
November 30,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
