BACKGROUND: The characteristics of patients who survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are incompletely known. The characteristics of survivors of OHCA during a period of 16 years in Sweden are described. METHODS: All the patients included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry between 1992 and 2007 in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted and who were alive after 1 month were included in the survey. RESULTS: In all, 2432 survivors were registered. Information on initial rhythm at their first ECG recording was missing in 11%. Of the remaining 2165 survivors, 80% had a shockable rhythm and 20% had a non-shockable rhythm. Only a minority with a shockable rhythm among the bystander-witnessed cases were defibrillated within 5 min after cardiac arrest. This proportion did not change during the entry period. Among survivors found in a non-shockable rhythm, the majority were bystander-witnessed cases and a few had a delay from cardiac arrest to ambulance arrival of <5 min. Of all survivors, more women (27%) than men (18%) were found in a non-shockable rhythm (p<0.0001). During the 16 years in which the register was used for this study, the proportion of survivors found in a shockable rhythm did not change significantly. The cerebral performance categories score indicated better cerebral function among patients found in a shockable rhythm than in those found in a non-shockable rhythm. CONCLUSION: Among survivors of OHCA, a substantial proportion was found in a non-shockable rhythm and this occurred more frequently in women than in men. The proportion of survivors found in a shockable rhythm has not changed markedly over time. Survivors found in a shockable rhythm had a better cerebral performance than survivors found in a non-shockable rhythm. The proportion of survivors who were bystander-witnessed and found in a shockable rhythm and defibrillated early is still remarkably low.
BACKGROUND: The characteristics of patients who survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are incompletely known. The characteristics of survivors of OHCA during a period of 16 years in Sweden are described. METHODS: All the patients included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry between 1992 and 2007 in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation was attempted and who were alive after 1 month were included in the survey. RESULTS: In all, 2432 survivors were registered. Information on initial rhythm at their first ECG recording was missing in 11%. Of the remaining 2165 survivors, 80% had a shockable rhythm and 20% had a non-shockable rhythm. Only a minority with a shockable rhythm among the bystander-witnessed cases were defibrillated within 5 min after cardiac arrest. This proportion did not change during the entry period. Among survivors found in a non-shockable rhythm, the majority were bystander-witnessed cases and a few had a delay from cardiac arrest to ambulance arrival of <5 min. Of all survivors, more women (27%) than men (18%) were found in a non-shockable rhythm (p<0.0001). During the 16 years in which the register was used for this study, the proportion of survivors found in a shockable rhythm did not change significantly. The cerebral performance categories score indicated better cerebral function among patients found in a shockable rhythm than in those found in a non-shockable rhythm. CONCLUSION: Among survivors of OHCA, a substantial proportion was found in a non-shockable rhythm and this occurred more frequently in women than in men. The proportion of survivors found in a shockable rhythm has not changed markedly over time. Survivors found in a shockable rhythm had a better cerebral performance than survivors found in a non-shockable rhythm. The proportion of survivors who were bystander-witnessed and found in a shockable rhythm and defibrillated early is still remarkably low.
Authors: Georg M Fröhlich; Richard M Lyon; Comilla Sasson; Tom Crake; Mark Whitbread; Andreas Indermuehle; Adam Timmis; Pascal Meier Journal: Curr Cardiol Rev Date: 2013-11
Authors: Iris Oving; Siobhan Masterson; Ingvild B M Tjelmeland; Martin Jonsson; Federico Semeraro; Mattias Ringh; Anatolij Truhlar; Diana Cimpoesu; Fredrik Folke; Stefanie G Beesems; Rudolph W Koster; Hanno L Tan; Marieke T Blom Journal: Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med Date: 2019-12-16 Impact factor: 2.953
Authors: Pamela Hiltunen; Markku Kuisma; Tom Silfvast; Juha Rutanen; Jukka Vaahersalo; Jouni Kurola Journal: Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med Date: 2012-12-17 Impact factor: 2.953
Authors: Iris Oving; Corina de Graaf; Siobhan Masterson; Rudolph W Koster; Aeilko H Zwinderman; Remy Stieglis; Hajriz AliHodzic; Enrico Baldi; Susanne Betz; Diana Cimpoesu; Fredrik Folke; Dennis Rupp; Federico Semeraro; Anatolij Truhlar; Hanno L Tan; Marieke T Blom Journal: Lancet Reg Health Eur Date: 2020-11-20