Bystanders are less willing to resuscitate out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ABSTRACT: Aim
The COVID-19 pandemic may influence the willingness of bystanders to engage in resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. We sought to determine if and how the pandemic has changed willingness to intervene, and the impact of personal protective equipment (PPE).Methods
We distributed a 12-item survey to the general public through social media channels from June 4 to 23, 2020. We used 100-point scales to inquire about participants' willingness to perform interventions on "strangers or unfamiliar persons" and "family members or familiar persons", and compared mean willingness during time periods prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic using paired t-tests.Results
Survey participants (n = 1360) were from 26 countries; the median age was 38 years (IQR 24-50) and 45% were female. Compared to prior to the pandemic, there were significant decreases in willingness to check for breathing or a pulse (mean difference -10.7% [95%CI -11.8, -9.6] for stranger/unfamiliar persons, -1.2% [95%CI -1.6, -0.8] for family/familiar persons), perform chest compressions (-14.3% [95%CI -15.6, -13.0], -1.6% [95%CI -2.1, -1.1]), provide rescue breaths (-19.5% [95%CI -20.9, -18.1], -5.5% [95%CI -6.4, -4.6]), and apply an automated external defibrillator (-4.8% [95%CI -5.7, -4.0], -0.9% [95%CI -1.3, -0.5]) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Willingness to intervene increased significantly if PPE was available (+8.3% [95%CI 7.2, 9.5] for stranger/unfamiliar, and +1.4% [95%CI 0.8, 1.9] for family/familiar persons).Conclusion
Willingness to perform bystander resuscitation during the pandemic decreased, however this was ameliorated if simple PPE were available.
SUBMITTER: Grunau B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7534822 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesOutcome from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) highly depends on bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with high-quality chest compressions (CCs). Precondition is a supine position of the victim on a firm surface. Until now, no study has systematically analysed whether bystanders of OHCA apply appropriate positions to victims and whether the position is associated with a particular outcome.DesignProspective observational cohort study.SettingMetropolitan emergency medical services (EMS) serving a population of 400 000; dispatcher-assisted CPR was implemented. We obtained information from the first EMS vehicle arriving on scene and matched this with data from semi-structured interviews with witnesses of the arrest.ParticipantsBystanders of all OHCAs occurring during a 12-month period (July 2006-July 2007). From 201 eligible missions, 200 missions were fully reported by EMS. Data from 138 bystander interviews were included.Primary and secondary outcome measuresProportion of positions suitable for effective CCs; related survival with favourable neurological outcome at 3 months.ResultsPositioning of victims at EMS arrival was 'supine on firm surface' in 64 cases (32.0%), 'recovery position (RP)' in 37 cases (18.5%) and other positions unsuitable for CCs in 99 cases (49.5%). Survival with favourable outcome at 3 months was 17.2% when 'supine position' had been applied, 13.5% with 'RP' and 6.1% with 'other positions unsuitable for CCs'; a statistically significant association could not be shown (p=0.740, Fisher's exact test). However, after 'effective CCs' favourable outcome at 3 months was 32.0% compared with 5.3% if no actions were taken. The OR was 5.87 (p=0.02).ConclusionIn OHCA, two-thirds of all victims were found in positions not suitable for effective CCs. This was associated with inferior outcomes. A substantial proportion of the victims was placed in RP. More attention should be paid to the correct positioning of victims in OHCA. This applies to CPR training for laypersons and dispatcher-assisted CPR.
| S-EPMC7513596 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) health care provision may be a good indicator of the recovery of the health care system involved in OHCA care following the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a lack of data regarding outcomes capable of verifying this recovery.ObjectiveTo determine whether return to spontaneous circulation, overall survival, and survival with good neurological outcome increased in patients with OHCA since the COVID-19 pandemic was brought under control in 2022 compared with prepandemic and pandemic levels.Design, setting, and participantsThis observational cohort study was conducted to examine health care response and survival with good neurological outcome at hospital discharge in patients treated following OHCA. A 3-month period, including the first wave of the pandemic (February 1 to April 30, 2020), was compared with 2 periods before (April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018) and after (January 1 to December 31, 2022) the pandemic. Data analysis was performed in July 2023. Emergency medical services (EMS) serving a population of more than 28 million inhabitants across 10 Spanish regions participated. Patients with OHCA were included if participating EMS initiated resuscitation or continued resuscitation initiated by a first responder.ExposureThe pandemic was considered to be under control following the official declaration that infection with SARS-CoV-2 was to be considered another acute respiratory infection.Main outcome and measuresThe main outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation, overall survival, and survival at hospital discharge with good neurological outcome, expressed as unimpaired or minimally impaired cerebral performance.ResultsA total of 14 732 patients (mean [SD] age, 64.2 [17.2] years; 10 451 [71.2%] male) were included, with 6372 OHCAs occurring during the prepandemic period, 1409 OHCAs during the pandemic period, and 6951 OHCAs during the postpandemic period. There was a higher incidence of OHCAs with a resuscitation attempt in the postpandemic period compared with the pandemic period (rate ratio, 4.93; 95% CI, 4.66-5.22; P < .001), with lower incidence of futile resuscitation for OHCAs (2.1 per 100 000 person-years vs 1.3 per 100 000 person-years; rate ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.71-0.92; P < .001). Recovery of spontaneous circulation at hospital admission increased from 20.5% in the pandemic period to 30.5% in the postpandemic period (relative risk [RR], 1.08; 95% CI, 1.06-1.10; P < .001). In the same way, overall survival at discharge increased from 7.6% to 11.2% (RR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.21-1.75; P < .001), with 6.6% of patients being discharged with good neurological status (Cerebral Performance Category Scale categories 1-2) in the pandemic period compared with 9.6% of patients in the postpandemic period (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04-1.10; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study, survival with good neurological outcome at hospital discharge following OHCA increased significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC10807256 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had severe impact on the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients and the possibility of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Previous studies focused only on the short periods of the pandemic and reported a significant increase in the number of infections. In a retrospective cohort study we aimed to compare the outcomes of OHCA patients 1 year before and 1 year after the onset of COVID-19. Data of 519 OHCA patients during the pre-pandemic (January-December 2019; 262 patients) and intra-pandemic (April 2020-March 2021; 257 patients) periods in Yokohama Municipal Hospital, Japan were collected and analysed retrospectively. The study outcomes were the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), admission to hospital, survival to discharge, and cerebral performance category at discharge. The intra-pandemic period was associated with decreased bystander CPR (P = 0.004), prolonged transport time (P < 0.001), delayed first adrenaline administration (P < 0.001), and decrease in ROSC (P = 0.023). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the following factors were significantly associated with ROSC: "pandemic", "shockable initial waveform", and "witness presence".
| S-EPMC10754886 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AimThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations throughout the country. Some studies described variation in total volume of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) during the pandemic. We aimed to describe the changes in volume and characteristics of OHCA patients and resuscitations in one urban EMS system.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort analysis of all recorded atraumatic OHCA in Marion County, Indiana, from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019 and from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. We described patient, arrest, EMS response, and survival characteristics. We performed paired and unpaired t-tests to evaluate the changes in those characteristics during COVID-19 as compared to the prior year. Data were matched by month to control for seasonal variation.ResultsThe total number of arrests increased from 884 in 2019 to 1034 in 2020 (p = 0.016). Comparing 2019 to 2020, there was little difference in age [median 62 (IQR 59-73) and 60 (IQR 47-72), p = 0.086], gender (38.5% and 39.8% female, p = 0.7466, witness to arrest (44.3% and 39.6%, p = 0.092), bystander AED use (10.1% and 11.4% p = 0.379), bystander CPR (48.7% and 51.4%, p = 0.242). Patients with a shockable initial rhythm (19.2% and 15.4%, p = 0.044) both decreased in 2020, and response time increased by 18 s [6.0 min (IQR 4.5-7.7) and 6.3 min (IQR 4.7-8.0), p = 0.008]. 47.7% and 54.8% (p = 0.001) of OHCA patients died in the field, 19.7% and 19.3% (p = 0.809) died in the Emergency Department, 21.8% and 18.5% (p = 0.044) died in the hospital, 10.8% and 7.4% (p = 0.012) were discharged from the hospital, and 9.3% and 5.9% (p = 0.005) were discharged with Cerebral Performance Category score ≤ 2.ConclusionTotal OHCA increased during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with the prior year. Although patient characteristics were similar, initial shockable rhythm, and proportion of patients who died in the hospital decreased during the pandemic. Further investigation will explore etiologies of those findings.
| S-EPMC8076765 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundandObjectives: This retrospective study evaluated the clinical impact of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) on the clinical outcomes in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Moreover, by focusing on the use of a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR), we investigated the medical personnel's perceptions of wearing PAPR during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Materialsand Methods: According to the arrival time at the emergency department, the patients were categorized into a conventional PPE group (1 August 2019 to 20 January 2020) and an enhanced PPE group (21 January 2020, to 31 August 2020). The primary outcomes of this analysis were the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rate. Additionally, subjective perception of the medical staff regarding the effect of wearing enhanced PPE during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was evaluated by conducting a survey. Results: This study included 130 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients, with 73 and 57 patients in the conventional and enhanced PPE groups, respectively. The median time intervals to first intubation and to report the first arterial blood gas analysis results were longer in the enhanced PPE group than in the conventional PPE group (3 min vs. 2 min; p = 0.020 and 8 min vs. 3 min; p < 0.001, respectively). However, there were no significant differences in the ROSC rate (odds ratio (OR) = 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.38-1.67; p = 0.542) and 1 month survival (OR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.07-2.10; p = 0.266) between the two groups. In total, 67 emergent department (ED) professionals responded to the questionnaire. Although a significant number of respondents experienced inconveniences with PAPR use, they agreed that PAPR was necessary during the CPR procedure for protection and reduction of infection transmission. Conclusion: The use of enhanced PPE, including PAPR, affected the performance of CPR to some extent but did not alter patient outcomes. PAPR use during the resuscitation of OHCA patients might positively impact the psychological stability of the medical staff.
| S-EPMC8708039 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAlthough the prognosis of patients treated at specialized facilities has improved, the relationship between the number of patients treated at hospitals and prognosis is controversial and lacks constancy in those with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study aimed to clarify the effect of annual hospital admissions on the prognosis of adult patients with OHCA by analyzing a large cohort.MethodsThe effect of annual hospital admissions on patient prognosis was analyzed retrospectively using data from the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine OHCA registry, a nationwide multihospital prospective database. This study analyzed 3632 of 35,754 patients hospitalized for OHCA of cardiac origin at 86 hospitals. The hospitals were divided into tertiles based on the volume of annual admissions. The effect of hospital volume on prognosis was analyzed using logistic regression analysis with multiple imputation. Furthermore, three subgroup analyses were performed for patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) before arrival at the emergency department, patients admitted to critical care medical centers, and patients admitted to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation-capable hospitals.ResultsFavorable neurological outcomes 30 days after OHCA for patients overall showed no advantage for medium- and high-volume centers over low-volume centers; Odds ratio (OR) 0.989, (95% Confidence interval [CI] 0.562-1.741), OR 1.504 (95% CI 0.919-2.463), respectively. However, the frequency of favorable neurological outcomes in OHCA patients with ROSC before arrival at the emergency department at high-volume centers was higher than those at low-volume centers (OR 1.955, 95% CI 1.033-3.851).ConclusionHospital volume did not significantly affect the prognosis of adult patients with OHCA. However, transport to a high-volume hospital may improve the neurological prognosis in OHCA patients with ROSC before arrival at the emergency department.
| S-EPMC9261001 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Women who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) less often than men. Understanding public perceptions of why this occurs is a necessary first step toward equitable application of this potentially life-saving intervention. METHODS:We conducted a national survey of members of the public using Mechanical Turk, Amazon's crowdsourcing platform, to determine reasons why women might receive bystander CPR less often than men. Eligible participants were adults (?18 years) located in the United States. Responses were excluded if the participant was not able to define CPR correctly. Participants were asked to answer the following free-text question: "Do you have any ideas on why women may be less likely to receive CPR than men when they collapse in public?" Descriptive statistics were used to define the cohort. The free-text response was coded using open coding, and major themes were identified via classical content analysis. RESULTS:In total, 548 subjects were surveyed. Mean age was 38.8 years, and 49.8% were female. Participants were geographically distributed as follows: 18.5% West, 9.2% Southwest, 22.0% Midwest, 27.5% Southeast, and 22.9% Northeast. After analysis, 3 major themes were detected for why the public perceives that women receive less bystander CPR. They include the following: (1) sexualization of women's bodies; (2) women are weak and frail and therefore prone to injury; and (3) misperceptions about women in acute medical distress. Overall, 41.9% (227) were trained in CPR while 4.4% reported having provided CPR in a medical emergency. CONCLUSIONS:Members of the general public perceive fears about inappropriate touching, accusations of sexual assault, and fear of causing injury as inhibiting bystander CPR for women. Educational and policy efforts to address these perceptions may reduce the sex differences in the application of bystander CPR.
| S-EPMC6386169 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The generation of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydrogen peroxide, in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors causes systemic ischemia/reperfusion injury that may lead to multiple organ dysfunction and mortality. We hypothesized that the antioxidant enzyme catalase may attenuate these pathophysiological processes after cardiac arrest. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the predictive value of catalase levels for mortality in OHCA survivors. In a prospective, single-center study, catalase levels were determined in OHCA survivors 48 h after the return of spontaneous circulation. Thirty-day mortality was defined as the study end point. A total of 96 OHCA survivors were enrolled, of whom 26% (n = 25) died within the first 30 days after OHCA. The median plasma intensity levels (log2) of catalase were 8.25 (IQR 7.64-8.81). Plasma levels of catalase were found to be associated with mortality, with an adjusted HR of 2.13 (95% CI 1.07-4.23, p = 0.032). A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant increase in 30-day mortality in patients with high catalase plasma levels compared to patients with low catalase levels (p = 0.012). High plasma levels of catalase are a strong and independent predictor for 30-day mortality in OHCA survivors. This indicates that ROS-dependent tissue damage is playing a crucial role in fatal outcomes of post-cardiac syndrome patients.
| S-EPMC8432041 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCerebral hypoperfusion may aggravate neurological damage after cardiac arrest. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides information on cerebral oxygenation but its relevance during post-resuscitation care is undefined. We investigated whether cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) measured with NIRS correlates with the serum concentration of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), a marker of neurological injury, and with clinical outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients.MethodsWe performed a post hoc analysis of a randomised clinical trial (COMACARE, NCT02698917) comparing two different levels of carbon dioxide, oxygen and arterial pressure after resuscitation from OHCA with ventricular fibrillation as the initial rhythm. We measured rSO2 in 118 OHCA patients with NIRS during the first 36 h of intensive care. We determined the NSE concentrations from serum samples at 48 h after cardiac arrest and assessed neurological outcome with the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale at 6 months. We evaluated the association between rSO2 and serum NSE concentrations and the association between rSO2 and good (CPC 1-2) and poor (CPC 3-5) neurological outcome.ResultsThe median (inter-quartile range (IQR)) NSE concentration at 48 h was 17.5 (13.4-25.0) μg/l in patients with good neurological outcome and 35.2 (22.6-95.8) μg/l in those with poor outcome, p < 0.001. We found no significant correlation between median rSO2 and NSE at 48 h, rs = - 0.08, p = 0.392. The median (IQR) rSO2 during the first 36 h of intensive care was 70.0% (63.5-77.0%) in patients with good outcome and 71.8% (63.3-74.0%) in patients with poor outcome, p = 0.943. There was no significant association between rSO2 over time and neurological outcome. In a binary logistic regression model, rSO2 was not a statistically significant predictor of good neurological outcome (odds ratio 0.99, 95% confidence interval 0.94-1.04, p = 0.635).ConclusionsWe found no association between cerebral oxygenation measured with NIRS and NSE concentrations or outcome in patients resuscitated from OHCA.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02698917 . Registered on 26 January 2016.
| S-EPMC6518726 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Purpose of reviewOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of death. Despite improvements in the cardiac disease management, OHCA outcomes remain poor. The purpose of this review is to provide information on the management of OHCA survivors, evidence-based treatments, and current gaps in the knowledge.Recent findingsMost common cause of death from OHCA is neurological injury followed by shock and multiorgan failure. Prognostication tools are available to help with the clinical decision-making. Taking measures to improve EMS response time, encouraging bystander CPR, early defibrillation, and targeted temperature management are shown to improve survival. Early activation of cardiac catheterization lab for coronary angiography, hemodynamic assessment, and mechanical circulatory support should be considered in patients with shockable rhythm and presumed cardiac cause, those with ST elevation, ongoing ischemia, or evidence of hemodynamic and electrical instability. Randomized controlled trials are lacking in this field and benefits of interventions should be weighed against risk of pursuing a futile treatment. COVID-19 pandemic has added new challenges to the care of OHCA patients.SummaryClinical decision-making to care for OHCA patients is challenging. There is a need for trials to provide evidence-based knowledge on the care of OHCA patients.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11936-021-00924-3.
| S-EPMC8107417 | biostudies-literature