Resuscitation and survival time in terminal cancer patients at the end of life: A retrospective observational study in a Chinese hospital

End-of-life care decisions for terminal cancer patients remain a clinical and ethical challenge, particularly regarding the use of aggressive interventions. This retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the impact of different treatment schemes on survival time in terminal cancer patients. A total of 1266 patients were categorized into 4 groups: Group A received mechanical assistance and other rescue measures in the intensive care unit (ICU); Group B received drug rescue with cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the general ward; Group C received drug rescue only; and Group D received no rescue treatment. Overall survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis, and between-group differences were assessed with stratified log-rank tests. The median survival times were: Group A: 138.0 hours (95% confidence interval [CI]: 109.1-166.8), Group B: 54.5 hours (95% CI: 42.8-66.3), Group C: 60.0 hours (95% CI: 51.7-68.3), and Group D: 60.4 hours (95% CI: 53.9-66.8). Group A showed significantly longer survival than Groups B, C, and D (P < .05), whereas no significant difference was observed among Groups B, C, and D (P > .05). ICU-based resuscitation may provide modest survival benefit for terminal cancer patients, whereas drug-based rescue and cardiopulmonary resuscitation outside the ICU do not appear to extend survival. These findings support individualized, evidence-based decision-making for end-of-life interventions.