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Objective: To determine survival to discharge and neurological outcomes on long-term follow-up of pediatric patients attended for out of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)., Methods: Retrospective study based on an ongoing OHCA registry. Patients aged 16 years or younger were included. Futile resuscitation attempts were excluded. Neurological outcome on hospital discharge and on follow-up was based on variables in the Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) scale. Cases from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2019, were extracted, and 2 surveys were carried out in May 2021 and January 2023. Patient follow-up time ranged from 1 to 13 years., Results: Of the 13 778 patients in the registry, we found 277 (2.0%) who were aged 16 years or younger. One hundred thirty-seven patients (49.5%) were transported to a hospital, and spontaneous circulation was restored in 99 (35.7%). Thirty-six patients (13%) were discharged. The median (interquartile range) follow-up time was 2172 (978-3035) days. Thirty-one of these patients (86.1%) were alive at follow-up, 3 had died, and 2 were lost to follow-up. Neurological outcomes had worsened in 2 and improved in 6 patients. The neurological outcome of 27 of the 31 patients with complete follow-up data (87.1%) was good (PCPC scores of 1 or 2)., Conclusions: In spite of the low incidence of shockable rhythm in pediatric OHCA, survival with a good neurological outcome is comparable to survival in adults. Children who are discharged after OHCA maintained or improved their neurological function over the long term.

Summary: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a serious public health problem worldwide. The annual incidence is estimated at around 400 000 cases in Europe and the United States, and survival rates scarcely reach 10%. However, there is considerable variation between countries and even between regions that share a similar health care system within a single country. Information recorded by the Out-of-Hospital Spanish Cardiac Arrest Registry (OHSCAR) provides information on care provided by emergency ambulance services, final health outcomes after cardiac arrest cases (including variations), the possibility of organ donation, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents the OHSCAR report for Spanish emergency services for the year 2022.

Objectives: To examine gender-related differences in the management and survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Spain during 2 time series., Material and Methods: Analysis of data recorded in the prospective Spanish OHCA registry (OHSCAR in its Spanish acronym) for 2 time series (2013-2014 and 2017-2018). We included all 11 036 consecutive cases in which an emergency team intervened. The dependent variables were arrival at the hospital after return of spontaneous circulation, overall survival to discharge, and overall survival with good neurological outcomes. Sex was the independent variable. We report descriptive statistics, patient group comparisons, and changes over time., Results: Women were significantly older and less likely to experience an OHCA in a public place, receive automatic external defibrillation, have a shockable heart rhythm, and be attended by an ambulance team within 15 minutes. In addition, fewer women underwent percutaneous coronary interventions or received treatment for hypothermia on admission to the hospital. In 2013-2014 and 2017-2018, respectively, the likelihood of survival was lower for women than men on admission (odds ratio [OR], 0.52 vs OR, 0.61; P .001 and P = .009 in the 2 time series) and at discharge (OR, 0.69 vs 0.72 for men; P = .001 in both time series). Survival with good neurological outcomes was also less likely in women (OR, 0.50 vs 0.63; P .001 in both series)., Conclusion: The odds for survival and survival with good neurological outcomes were lower for women in nearly all patient groups in both time series. These findings suggest the need to adopt new approaches to address gender differences in OHCA.

Objectives: The incidence and outcomes of care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary greatly from country to country. We aimed to study variation in the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of care for OHCAs given by Spanish prehospital emergency services., Material and Methods: Descriptive retrospective analysis of data from the Out-of-Hospital Spanish Cardiac Arrest Registry (OHSCAR) from October 2013 to October 2014. Attempts by 19 Spanish emergency services to resuscitate patients were studied. All OHCA cases were reviewed to obtain the following data: incidence, patient and event characteristics, prior emergencies, resuscitation attempts, and the main treatments provided in the hospital. If a patient was admitted, we compared the neurologic status on hospital discharge., Results: Statistically significant differences were detected between emergency services (P .0001) in the incidence of attempted resuscitation and all general characteristics except sex. Hospital treatments and outcomes also differed significantly: pulse had been restored on arrival of 30.5% of patients (range 21.3% to 56.1%, P .001), and 31.8% of admitted patients were discharged in cerebral performance categories 1 or 2 (range 17.2% to 58.3%, P .001)., Conclusion: Differences in the incidence of resuscitation attempts, key variables, and survival at discharge from the hospital are present in OHCA cases attended by prehospital emergency services in different regions of Spain.

Objectives: To assess first-year secondary-school students' knowledge and performance of basic life support (BLS) 6 months after training given by their regular teachers during school hours., Material and Methods: Sixty-two teachers were trained in BLS instruction. They then instructed 1043 students. The students' knowledge increased significantly from mean (SD) scores of 4.42 (1.64) to 7.28 (1.85) (P < .001) and was maintained at 6 months (mean score, 5.15 [3.16]; P <.001). Performance skills were also maintained at 6 months, although the students had greater difficulty attaining ventilation targets., Results: Sixty-two teachers were trained in BLS instruction. They then instructed 1043 students. The students' knowledge increased significantly from mean (SD) scores of 4.42 (1.64) to 7.28 (1.85) (P < .001) and was maintained at 6 months (mean score, 5.15 [3.16]; P < .001). Performance skills were also maintained at 6 months, although the students had greater difficulty attaining ventilation targets., Conclusion: Teachers' training of their own first-year secondary students during regular school hours led to changes in the students' attitudes toward the possibility of cardiac arrest and to the learning of BLS techniques.

Objectives: To assess factors associated with survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in patients who underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during ambulance transport., Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis of a registry of OHCA cases treated between 2008 and 2014. We included patients who had not recovered circulation at the time it was decided to transport to a hospital and who were rejected as non-heart-beating donors. Multivariate analysis was used to explore factors associated with the use of ambulance CPR, survival, and neurologic outcome., Results: Out of a total of 7241 cases, 259 (3.6%) were given CPR during emergency transport. The mean (SD) age was 51.6 (23.6) years; 27 (10.1%) were aged 16 years or younger. The following variables were associated with the use of CPR during transport: age 16 years or under (odds ratio [OR], 6.48; 95% CI, 3.91-10.76); P<.001)], witnessed OHCA (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.16-2.26; P=.004), cardiac arrest outside the home (OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 2.38-4.21; P<.001), noncardiac cause (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.07-2.02; P=.019], initially shockable rhythm (OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.17-2.37; P=.004), no prior basic life support (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 2.58-4.70; P<.001), and orotracheal intubation (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.24-2.99; P=.003). One patient (0.38%) survived to discharge with good neurologic outcome., Conclusion: Ambulance CPR by a physician on board is applied in few OHCA cases. Young patient age, cardiac arrest outside the home, the presence of a witness, lack of a shockable rhythm on responder arrival, lack of basic life support prior to responder arrival, noncardiac cause, and orotracheal intubation are associated with the use of ambulance CPR, a strategy that can be considered futile.

Introduction and Objectives: There is a paucity of data on prehospital cardiac arrest in Spain. Our aim was to describe the incidence, patient characteristics, and outcomes of out-of-hospital emergency care for this event., Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospective registry of cardiopulmonary arrest handled by an out-of-hospital emergency service between January 2008 and December 2012. The registry included all patients considered to have a cardiac etiology as the cause of arrest, with a descriptive analysis performed of general patient characteristics and factors associated with good neurologic outcome at hospital discharge., Results: A total of 4072 patients were included, with an estimated incidence of 14.6 events per 100000 inhabitants and year; 72.6% were men. The mean age was 62.0 ± 15.8 years, 58.6% of cases occurred in the home, 25% of patients had initial defibrillable rhythm, 28.8% of patients arrived with a pulse at the hospital (58.3% of the group with defibrillable rhythm), and 10.2% were discharged with good neurologic outcome. The variables associated with this recovery were: witnessed arrest (P=.04), arrest witnessed by emergency team (P=.005), previous life support (P=.04), initial defibrillable rhythm (P=.0001), and performance of a coronary interventional procedure (P=.0001)., Conclusions: More than half the cases of sudden cardiac arrest occur at home, and the population was found to be relatively young. Although recovery was satisfactory in 1 out of every 10 patients, there is a need for improvement in the phase prior to emergency team arrival. Coronary interventional procedures had an impact on patient prognosis., (Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objectives: To investigate out-of-hospital treatment, including fibrinolysis, in patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction and to determine the 1-year survival rate., Methods: Prospective cohort study based on an ongoing out-of-hospital registry of patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction who were treated by out-of-hospital emergency teams in Andalusia, Spain during 2001-2004. Patients were followed up in hospital and one year after the acute episode., Results: The study involved 2372 patients. Out-of-hospital fibrinolysis was used in 467 (19.7%). Among these, 20.7% received treatment within the first hour, 68% within the first 2 hours, and 2 (0.4%) hemorrhagic strokes occurred. Episodes of ventricular fibrillation were recorded in 158 patients (6.7%), 106 (67%) of whom were discharged. In addition, 386 (16.3%) patients died in the short term (both out of and in hospital), with 26 (1.1%) dying before they reached hospital. The cumulative 1-year mortality rate was 22.4% (531 patients) overall, and 6.6% (29 patients) in the out-of-hospital fibrinolysis group. Increased survival at 1 year was associated with out-of-hospital fibrinolysis (odds ratio [OR]=0.368; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.238-0.566) and percutaneous coronary intervention during admission (OR=0.445; 95% CI, 0.268-0.740)., Conclusions: In routine clinical practice, out-of-hospital fibrinolysis was performed safely, reduced short-term mortality, and improved the 1-year survival rate. The combination of appropriate out-of-hospital treatment, including early defibrillation and fibrinolysis within the first three hours, together with the systematic application of percutaneous coronary intervention during hospital admission is a suitable treatment strategy for the comprehensive care of patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction.

Introduction and Objectives: Clinical trials and meta-analyses have shown that out-of-hospital thrombolysis is effective. Our objectives were to investigate out-of-hospital emergency management of acute myocardial infarction by paramedical teams and to identify factors associated with out-of-hospital use of fibrinolytic therapy., Patients and Method: The study made use of a registry of all patients with ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome who were diagnosed and treated out of hospital by emergency paramedical teams in Andalusia, Spain in the 2-year period: 2001-2002. Follow-up was carried out during hospital admission and after one month., Results: The study included 981 patients, mean age 65 [13] years, 777 male (79.2%). In total, 152 (15.5%) received out-of-hospital thrombolysis; 18% within the first hour, and 68% within the first 2 hours following symptom onset. No hemorrhagic stroke was observed following thrombolysis. During hospitalization, 206 (21%) patients died, eight (0.8%) of whom had received out-of-hospital thrombolysis. Factors associated with the administration of out-of-hospital thrombolysis included: age under 55 years (P<.0001), normal systolic blood pressure (odds ratio = 6.825; 95% confidence interval, 2.442-19.069), and an in-hospital diagnosis of anterior acute myocardial infarction (P<.022)., Conclusions: The administration of out-of-hospital thrombolysis by emergency paramedical teams enables treatment to be administered within the optimum time interval. Mortality during hospital admission is lower in this subgroup of patients than in those who did not receive out-of-hospital thrombolysis. Moreover, the low complication rate observed indicates that the procedure is safe. However, the patients who received out-of-hospital thrombolysis appeared to be those at a lower risk.