Understanding the emergency medical service response to patients who are at imminent risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Kirby, Kim; White, Paul; Voss, Sarah; Benger, Jonathan

Abstract

Study Aim: To understand the survival and emergency medical service call triage and response to patients who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after the emergency medical service call is connected.
Methods: A descriptive retrospective data analysis of two years’ of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry data, 2018-2019, linked to computer aided dispatch data was completed in a single system emergency medical service in the South West of the United Kingdom. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and chi squared analysis for association.
Results: There were 4245 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients included for analysis. Patients who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after the emergency call is connected receive a lower priority response, have a significantly longer response time and where the cardiac arrest is not witnessed by the emergency medical service have poorer outcomes than those patients who have already suffered a cardiac arrest at the time of the emergency call.
Conclusion: Emergency medical service response times were significantly shorter for patients who had already suffered a cardiac arrest at the time of the call for help in comparison to those patients who continued to suffer a cardiac arrest after the call for help was connected. Patients who suffer a cardiac arrest after the connection of the emergency call and where the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is not emergency medical service witnessed have the poorest outcomes.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 7, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 13, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 13, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 14, 2025
• Journal: Paramedicine
• Print ISSN: 2753-6386
• Electronic ISSN: 2753-6386
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/27536386241302116
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13611036