Survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Wellington in relation to socioeconomic status and arrest location.

AIMS: The study examined the influence of physical location on survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Firstly, OHCAs occurring in residential settings were compared to those occurring in public locations. Secondly, the residential OHCAs were classified according to socioeconomic status and the relationship between socioeconomic status and outcome from OHCA was examined.
METHODS: For all OHCAs that occurred between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2010, we compared OHCA characteristics and outcomes between public and residential locations, and for residential locations examined across deciles of socioeconomic status.
RESULTS: Of the 445 arrests that occurred during the study period, 413 met the inclusion criteria. Survival from OHCA in public locations was approximately twice that for residential OHCA (19.8% vs 10.7%, p=0.021). We found no association between survival from residential OHCA and socioeconomic status. Similarly, we found no association between socioeconomic status and witnessing of the event, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the initial presenting rhythm, and ambulance response time.
CONCLUSION: Residential OHCA in the Wellington region has a much poorer prognosis than OHCA in public locations. There is no evidence to suggest that any socioeconomic group in the Wellington region is disadvantaged when a community and ambulance response is required for an OHCA.