Association between emergency medical services' response times, low socioeconomic status, and poorer outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: the MEDIC multicenter retrospective cohort study for disparities in access to prehospital critical care in the
Prolonged emergency medical services' response times (EMS-RT) are associated with poorer outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The patient access time interval (PATI), from vehicle stop until contact with patient, may be increased in areas with low socioeconomic status (SES).
The objective of this study is to identify predictors of prolonged EMS-RT intervals, and to evaluate associations with clinical outcomes in OHCAs occurring in the largest metropolitan area in France.
Using the Utstein-style, prospectively implemented, population-based SDEC registry for OHCAs, we conducted a multicenter, region-wide, retrospective cohort study of EMS dispatches for OHCA cases occurring in the 124 cities of the Greater Paris area, France, between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018.
Adult, nontraumatic, EMS-assessed, non-EMS witnessed OHCAs.
Geographic location and scene-level SES.
The primary outcome was the EMS-RT interval, from activation until arrival at patient's side. As secondary outcomes, we evaluated patient access outcomes of: (1) dispatch-to-patient contact interval ('EMS-RT'); and (2) vehicle scene arrival-to-patient contact interval (PATI); and patient clinical outcomes of: (1) death; and (2) unfavorable neurological status, both at 30 days. Area-level SES was assessed at census tract level using the European Deprivation Index (EDI; continuous, and divided into quintiles, Q5 = most deprived). We fitted multilevel mixed-effects regression models to identify predictors of patient access outcomes, and their association with clinical outcomes.
We included 4082 cases; the median EMS-RT was 10.85 min (interquartile range [8.87-13.15]), and 138 (3.4%) survived to hospital discharge. Independent predictors of increased EMS-RT and PATI were age >65, female sex, residential location, occurrence at elevated floors, arrest unwitnessed by a bystander, and low EDI (all P < 0.018). After multivariable analysis, an overall EMS-RT interval >8 min was associated with higher mortality and poorer neurological status at hospital discharge (both P < 0.001).
In OHCA cases occurring in the Greater Paris metropolitan area, after adjustment for scene characteristics, EMS delays until patient contact were longer in neighborhoods of low SES, and were associated with poorer clinical outcomes.
Heidet M
,Frattini B
,Jost D
,Mermet É
,Bougouin W
,Lesaffre X
,Wohl M
,Marijon E
,Cariou A
,Jouven X
,Dumas F
,Lecarpentier É
,Chollet-Xémard C
,Vaux J
,Khellaf M
,Souihi S
,Vivien B
,Sinden S
,Grunau B
,Travers S
,Audureau É
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The association between AHA CPR quality guideline compliance and clinical outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Measures of chest compression fraction (CCF), compression rate, compression depth and pre-shock pause have all been independently associated with improved outcomes from out-of-hospital (OHCA) cardiac arrest. However, it is unknown whether compliance with American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines incorporating all the aforementioned metrics, is associated with improved survival from OHCA.
We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Epistry-Cardiac Arrest database. As per the 2015 American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, guideline compliant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was defined as CCF >0.8, chest compression rate 100-120/minute, chest compression depth 50-60mm, and pre-shock pause <10s. Multivariable logistic regression models controlling for Utstein variables were used to assess the relationship between global guideline compliance and survival to hospital discharge and neurologically intact survival with MRS ≤3. Due to potential confounding between CPR quality metrics and cases that achieved early ROSC, we performed an a priori subgroup analysis restricted to patients who obtained ROSC after ≥10min of EMS resuscitation.
After allowing for study exclusions, 19,568 defibrillator records were collected over a 4-year period ending in June 2015. For all reported models, the reference standard included all cases who did not meet all CPR quality benchmarks. For the primary model (CCF, rate, depth), there was no significant difference in survival for resuscitations that met all CPR quality benchmarks (guideline compliant) compared to the reference standard (OR 1.26; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.97). When the dataset was restricted to patients obtaining ROSC after ≥10min of EMS resuscitation (n=4,158), survival was significantly higher for those resuscitations that were guideline compliant (OR 2.17; 95% CI: 1.11, 4.27) compared to the reference standard. Similar findings were obtained for neurologically intact survival with MRS ≤3 (OR 3.03; 95% CI: 1.12, 8.20).
In this observational study, compliance with AHA guidelines for CPR quality was not associated with improved outcomes from OHCA. Conversely, when restricting the cohort to those with late ROSC, compliance with guidelines was associated with improved clinical outcomes. Strategies to improve overall guideline compliance may have a significant impact on outcomes from OHCA.
Cheskes S
,Schmicker RH
,Rea T
,Morrison LJ
,Grunau B
,Drennan IR
,Leroux B
,Vaillancourt C
,Schmidt TA
,Koller AC
,Kudenchuk P
,Aufderheide TP
,Herren H
,Flickinger KH
,Charleston M
,Straight R
,Christenson J
,ROC investigators
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Trauma center vs. nearest non-trauma center: direct transport or bypass approach for out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest.
Out-of-hospital traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA), a sudden loss of heart function caused by severe trauma such as blunt, penetrating, or other injuries, presents significant public health challenges due to its high severity and extremely low survival rates. Approximately 2.7% of trauma patients experience cardiac arrest at the scene, with an overall survival rate of less than 5%. The correlations of prognosis with various transport approach, such as hospital level with different distance, are yet to be clarified. Thus, we conducted this study to assess the association of transporting TCA patients to hospitals of different levels and distances on critical outcomes, including the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival to admission, and 30-day survival.
This retrospective study included adults with TCA who were admitted to various emergency departments in Taoyuan City between January 2016 and December 2022. The patients were stratified by destination hospital into three groups: those transported to a trauma center (TC; TC group), those transported to the nearest non-TC (non-TC group), and those cross-regionally transported to a TC (cross-region TC group). Geographic information system (GIS) data were utilized to determine hospital locations and distances. The associations between various factors and key outcomes-any return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival to admission, 24-h survival and 30-day survival-were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association of these outcomes based on transportation to hospitals of different levels.
This study included 557 patients with TCA (TC: 190 [direct transport: 72; cross-region transport: 118]; non-TC: 367). The TC and cross-region TC groups demonstrated significantly higher rates of ROSC at 30.6% and 30.5%, respectively, as well as lower mortality rates (95.8% for both), compared to the non-TC group, which had a ROSC rate of 12.0% and a mortality rate of 99.5%. Multivariable analysis revealed significant associations between favorable outcomes and transportation to a trauma center, either directly (aOR 2.91, 95% CI 1.54-5.49) or via cross-region transfer (aOR 2.05, 95% CI 1.01-4.15). Furthermore, blunt trauma was significantly associated with a poorer survival prognosis (aOR 0.31, 95% CI 0.08-0.78).
This study highlights the positive associations of direct or cross-region transportation to a TC on the outcomes of TCA. Our findings challenge the current EMT transport approach in Taiwan, which prioritizes transporting TCA patients to the nearest hospital regardless of its level, potentially leading to worse outcomes. Transport time and TC distance may not significantly influence prognosis.
Bypassing and directly transporting to a TC within the observed (10 km) distances are associated with better survival rates in patients with TCA. Furthermore, blunt TCA is associated with a poorer survival prognosis compared to other mechanisms of trauma-induced cardiac arrest.
Wang MF
,Chen CB
,Ng CJ
,Chen WC
,Tsai SL
,Huang CH
,Chang CY
,Tsai LH
,Lin CC
,Chien CY
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《Scandinavian Journal of Trauma Resuscitation & Emergency Medicine》