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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.

Importance: Out-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., Objective: To 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 Participants: This 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., Exposure: The 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 Measures: The 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., Results: A 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 Relevance: In this cohort study, survival with good neurological outcome at hospital discharge following OHCA increased significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.