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Background: A low bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) rate is one of the factors associated with low cardiac arrest survival. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and willingness towards performing CPR and the barriers for implementation of bystander-initiated CPR. Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted using an author-designed and validated structured questionnaire in Taiwan. After obtaining a stratified random sample from the census, the results were weighted to match population data. The factors affecting bystander-initiated CPR were analysed using logistic regression. Results: Of the 1073 respondents, half of them stated that they knew how to perform CPR correctly, although 86.7% indicated a willingness to perform CPR on strangers. The barriers to CPR performance reported by the respondents included fear of legal consequences (44%) and concern about harming patients (36.5%). Most participants expressed a willingness to attend only an hour-long CPR course. Respondents who were less likely to indicate a willingness to perform CPR were female, healthcare providers, those who had no cohabiting family members older than 65 years, those who had a history of a stroke, and those who expressed a negative attitude toward CPR. Conclusion: The expressed willingness to perform bystander CPR was high if the respondents possessed the required skills. Attempts should be made to recruit potential bystanders for CPR courses or education, targeting those respondent subgroups less likely to express willingness to perform CPR. The reason for lower bystander CPR willingness among healthcare providers deserves further investigation. Keywords: Cardiac arrest, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Willingness, Bystander CPR, Survey

Dispatcher-assisted CPR (DA-CPR) has the potential to deliver early bystander CPR (BCPR) and improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival. This study in the Asia-Pacific evaluated the impact of a DA-CPR program on BCPR rates and survival.This was a three-arm, prospective, multi-national, population-based, community-level, implementation trial. Cases between January 2009 and June 2018 from the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study were included. Sites either implemented a comprehensive (with quality improvement tool) or a basic DA-CPR package, or served as controls. Primary outcome was survival-to-discharge/30th day post-arrest. Secondary outcomes were BCPR and favorable neurological outcome. A before-after comparison was made within each country; this before-after change was then compared across the three groups using logistic regression.170,687 cases were analyzed. Before-after comparison showed that survival to discharge was higher in the 'implementation' period in all three groups: comprehensive odds ratio (OR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI; [1.0-1.19]); basic OR 1.14, 95% CI (1.08-1.2); and control OR 1.25, 95% CI (1.02-1.53). Comparing between groups, the comprehensive group had significantly higher change in BCPR (comprehensive vs control ratio of OR 1.86, 95% CI [1.66-2.09]; basic vs control ratio of OR 0.94, 95% CI [0.85-1.05]; and comprehensive vs basic ratio of OR 1.97, 95% CI [1.87-2.08]) and survival with favorable neurological outcome (comprehensive vs basic ratio of OR 1.2, 95% CI [1.04-1.39]).We evaluated the impact of a DA-CPR program across heterogeneous EMS systems and demonstrated that a comprehensive DA-CPR program had the most impact on BCPR and favorable neurological outcome.

Background: The prognosis of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is generally poor. It is known that the survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients depends on treatments delivered in a very short time frame. Identifying outcome-associated factors may provide valuable information for decision-making in clinical practices. Aim: The objective of the present study was to assess the associations between various factors (e.g. serum biomarker levels and prehospital factors) and outcomes in adult, non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. Methods: Data from 386 consecutive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients treated from January 2012 to December 2015 at Taoyuan Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Taiwan, ROC) were collected. While performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the emergency room, the levels of creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, sodium, potassium, troponin-I, hydrogen bicarbonate and haemoglobin were determined, blood pH and pCO2 were measured and the white blood cell count was calculated. The response time and scene time interval were also recorded. Results: Here we found that out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with blood pH values of Conclusion: Our data suggest that the blood pH and an automated external defibrillator shockable rhythm are two easily measurable factors strongly associated with the outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.

Background An optimized protocol to help dispatchers identify potential cases of cardiac arrest and provide phone instructions for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may increase the provision of bystander CPR, further improving the survival rate and neurological outcomes. Objective We assessed a revised dispatcher-assisted (DA)-CPR protocol with a continuous quality-improvement feature in a county fire department-based emergency medical services system. Methods This was a before-and-after intervention prospective study conducted in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The participants were out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients from November 2014 to February 2016. Interventional quality control started in August 2015. Approximately 10% of the telephone calls from these OHCA patients were reviewed. Results In total, 66 and 64 cases were included in the before- and after-intervention groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in sex, age, day, and time of events, or languages spoken by the callers. After the intervention, we found significant improvements in the rates at which cardiac arrests were recognized (54.5% vs. 68.8%; p = 0.007) and normal breathing was checked (51.5% vs. 76.6%, p = 0.003). Moreover, the frequency with which DA-CPR was provided by the dispatchers improved significantly (50.0% vs. 72.7%; p = 0.046). Significant improvement in patient outcomes was observed with regard to 24-h survival (7.6% vs. 20.3%, p = 0.036) but not with regard to survival to discharge (3.0% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.076). Conclusions The study found this DA-CPR protocol, which includes continuous quality control, is promising as it improved the successful recognition of cardiac arrests.

Objective There is lack of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of prehospital triage systems. This study compared the two-level Taiwan Prehospital Triage System (TPTS) with the five-level Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) at ED arrival regarding the prediction of patient outcomes and the utilisation of medical resources. Design This was a retrospective cohort study. Adult patients transported via the emergency medical service (EMS), who arrived at the ED of a medical centre in northern Taiwan during the study period were enrolled. TTAS acuity levels 1–2 were considered comparable to the designation of ‘emergent’ by the prehospital TPTS system. The outcomes were analysed by comparing TPTS and TTAS by acuity levels. Results Among 4430 enrolled patients, 25.2% and 74.8% were classified as emergent and non-emergent by TPTS; 44.1% and 55.9% were classified as levels 1–2 and levels 3–5 by TTAS. Of the TPTS emergent patients, 15.2% were classified as TTAS levels 3–5, whereas 30.4% of TPTS non-emergent transports were classified as TTAS levels 1–2 at the ED. TTAS levels 1–2 showed better predictability than TPTS emergent level for hospitalisation rate with a sensitivity of 70.3% (95% CI 68.3% to 72.2%) versus 41.1% (95% CI 39.0% to 43.2%), and a negative predictive value of 74.8% (95% CI 73.4% to 76.0%) versus 62.6% (95% CI 61.7% to 63.5%). Conclusion The current prehospital triage system is insufficient and inappropriate in classifying patients transported to the ED. The present study offers supporting evidence for the introduction of a five-level triage system to prehospital EMS systems.

Background Commotio cordis is ventricular fibrillation after a direct precordial blow without mechanical damage to organs. Early recognition and prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation save lives. According to previous reports, the major determinants of commotio cordis include location and timing of the blow. Other risk factors are young age, a thin and undeveloped chest cage, and a small hard spherical projectile. The pathophysiology of commotion cordis remains uncertain, such as individual susceptibility to prolonged repolarization and long QT. Case report A 32-year-old man suddenly collapsed after a direct blow to the anterior chest from an elbow during a basketball game. A bystander called an ambulance and activated the emergency medical service immediately. Dispatch assisted the bystander with cardiopulmonary resuscitation via telephone. An automated external defibrillator was applied when emergency medical technicians arrived, which showed ventricular fibrillation. The patient regained a pulse after the first electrical shock and five-cycle-chest compression. Further examinations revealed a long QT on electrocardiogram and hypokalemia. The QT interval was within normal limits without any ventricular arrhythmia after the potassium level had been normalized. Conclusion This case reminds physicians of the risk of commotio cordis associated with exercise-induced hypokalemia. An electrocardiogram should be checked for QT prolongation immediately after return of spontaneous circulation in patients of sudden cardiac arrest. Supplying adequate potassium for hypokalemia related QT prolongation should be considered as treatment and primary prevention in such case.

Background In the provision of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by health care providers, factors associated with high-quality CPR should be explored. Methods This is a post hoc analysis using data from a manikin-based survey of CPR quality among volunteer emergency medical technicians (EMTs) from 2 county fire departments in northern Taiwan. Results Among the 95 enrolled EMTs, 36 (37.9%) performed high-quality CPR on a manikin. The baseline characteristics that differed significantly between groups were board-certified EMT levels ( P = .010), body mass index (BMI, P = .029), average exercise frequency ( P = .001), and average exercise duration ( P = .005). Average total exercise time per week, which uses frequency times exercise duration, was independently associated with high-quality CPR performance after adjusting for variables via logistic regression analysis (odds ratio, 1.004; P = .044). An index was developed (BMI × ExeTime) based on the product of BMI and average total exercise time per week. A comparison of the area under curve for the different indices showed that BMI × ExeTime was a significant predictor of high-quality CPR, with an area under curve of 0.718 (95% confidence interval, 0.613-0.824; P 2 (sensitivity, 0.722; specificity, 0.678). Conclusions This study identified factors associated with the performance by health care providers of high-quality CPR, including BMI and exercise habits. To optimize CPR quality, a program of exercise frequency and duration adjusted according to individual's BMI should be considered in such populations.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the inter-rater reliability of the five-level Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) when used by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and triage registered nurses (TRNs). Furthermore, it sought to validate the prehospital TTAS scores according to ED hospitalisation rates and medical resource consumption.MethodsThis was a prospective observational study. After training in five-level triage, EMTs triaged patients arriving to the ED and agreement with the nurse triage (TRN) was assessed. Subsequently, these trained research EMTs rode along on ambulance calls and assigned TTAS scores for each patient at the scene, while the on-duty EMTs applied their standard two-tier prehospital triage scale and followed standard practice, blinded to the TTAS scores. The accuracy of the TTAS scores in the field for prediction of hospitalisation and medical resource consumption were analysed using logistic regression and a linear model, respectively, and compared with the accuracy of the current two-tier prehospital triage scale.ResultsAfter EMT’s underwent initial training in five-level TTAS, inter-rater agreement between EMTs and TRNs for triage of ED patients was very good (κw=0.825, CI 0.750 to 0.900). For the outcome of hospitalisation, TTAS five-level system (Akaike’s Information Criteria (AIC)=486, area under the curve (AUC)=0.75) showed better discrimination compared with TPTS two-level system (AIC=508, AUC=0.66). Triage assignments by the EMTs using the the five-level TTAS was linearly associated with hospitalisation and medical resource consumption.ConclusionsA five-level prehospital triage scale shows good inter-rater reliability and superior discrimination compared with the two-level system for prediction of hospitalisation and medical resource requirements.

Objective Predicting the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients is crucial. We examined hospital characteristics and parameters of emergency medical service (including scene time interval and direct ambulance delivery to intensive heart hospitals) as survival or outcome predictors. Study design Data from 546 consecutive OHCA shockable patients treated between January 2012 and December 2015 in Taoyuan City (Taiwan, ROC) were collected. In addition to demographic data, location of arrest, initial rhythm, availability of a hospital with or without 24/7 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), emergency medical service (EMS) time, provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation by a bystander, presence of a witness at collapse, and level of life support were analysed. Results Multivariate analysis showed that hospitalisation with immediate PCI availability was an independent predictor (OR: 4.32; 95% CI: 1.27–14.70) solely for the outcome of survival until discharge. The presence of a witness while collapsing (OR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.03–11.98), EMS response time (OR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.70–0.98), and scene time interval (STI; OR: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81–0.99) were valuable for predicting the neurological outcome. Conclusions Direct ambulance delivery to intensive heart hospitals that had 24/7 PCI availability was associated with a higher probability of surviving until discharge in OHCA patients with shockable rhythms. Similarly, a witnessed collapse was correlated with being discharged alive from hospital and recovering with good cerebral performance. In addition, longer response time and scene time interval indicated poorer survival and neurological outcome.

Introduction Pre-hospital termination of resuscitation (TOR) is not a usual practice in many cities. The current study aimed to examine the reliability of the modified basic life support (ED-BLS) and advanced life support (ED-ALS) rules for TOR after patient arrival at the emergency department (ED). Methods In this retrospective cohort study, adult non-traumatic cardiac arrest patients who received pre-hospital basic life support and defibrillator (BLS-D) mode of service in Taoyuan County in northern Taiwan during the study period were assessed. Data were retrieved from web-based registry records. Results Of the 1612 patients included, 40 (2.5%) achieved survival to discharge. The ED-ALS rule showed higher specificity (ED-ALS rule: 82.5% {95% confidence interval [CI]: 68.1-91.3} vs. ED-BLS rule: 50.0% {95%CI: 35.2-64.8}) and positive predictive value (ED-ALS rule: 99.0% {95% CI: 97.9-99.5} vs. ED-BLS rule: 98.6% {95%CI: 97.8-99.1}) than the ED-BLS rule in terms of predicting no survival to discharge after patient arrival at the ED. Among patients who fulfilled all criteria for the ED-BLS and ED-ALS rule, 20 (1.4%) and seven (1.0%) survived to discharge, respectively. Application of the ED-BLS and ED-ALS rules could have reduced further resuscitation efforts after arrival at the ED by 86.4% and 43.1%, respectively. Conclusion For non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients who receive BLS-D service, the ED-ALS rule has a higher specificity and PPV than the ED-BLS rule to predict no survival to discharge after patient arrival at the ED. Using the ED-ALS rule to terminate resuscitation after arrival at the ED should be prospectively validated. (Hong Kong j.emerg.med. 2014;21:283-290)

Background Most out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) studies have been conducted in developed countries or metropolitan areas, and few in developing countries or rural areas. Objectives The aims of this study were to determine the weak links in the chain of survival and to estimate the outcomes of OHCA patients in Taoyuan, a nonmetropolitan area in Taiwan. Methods A retrospective review and analysis of OHCA data was conducted. The three outcomes were whether a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was achieved, whether the patient survived to admission, or whether the patient survived to hospital discharge. Results From April to December 2008, 1048 OHCA patients were resuscitated, and 712 (67.9%) adult cardiac patients were used in this study. Among these 712 patients, 17.8% achieved ROSC (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.2–20.8%), 16.3% survived to admission (95% CI 13.6–19.0%), and 1.4% survived to discharge (95% CI 0.5–2.3%). Factors significantly associated with the three outcomes were witness status, response time to emergency medical services, and whether the patient had a shockable rhythm. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) did not add a notable benefit to the outcomes of OHCA. Conclusions The survival rate of OHCA patients in nonmetropolitan Taiwan was very low (1.4%). Lower witnessed rate, lower bystander CPR rate, and longer response interval in remote areas are the main causes of inferior survival rate.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Effectiveness of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is known to provide emergency medical services which reduce the number of deaths in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The survival at these patients is affected by the training level of the bystander, but the best format of CPR training is unclear. In this pilot study, we aimed to examine whether the sequence of CPR instruction improves learning retention on the course materials. A total of 95 participants were recruited and divided into 2 groups; Group 1: 49 participants were taught firstly how to recognize a cardiac arrest and activate the emergency response system, and Group 2: 46 participants were taught chest compression first. The performance of participants was observed and evaluated, the results from 1 pre-test and 2 post-tests between 2 groups were then compared. There was a significantly better improvement of participants in Group 2 regarding the recognition of a cardiac arrest and the activation of the emergency response system than of those in Group 1. At the post-test, participants in Group 2 had an improvement in chest compression compared to those in Group 1, but the difference was not statistically significant. Our study had revealed that teaching CPR first in a standardized public education program had improved the ability of participants to recognize cardiac arrest and to activate the emergency response system.

Water electrolysis is one of the most common ways to produce hydrogen gas. It has several merits, such as: high efficiency, high purity, and easy use. In this paper, electrodes with different magnetism are adapted on the hydrogen production by water electrolysis, and the influences of magneto-hydrodynamics on the electrolysis process are discussed. The influences of working parameters related to magnetism and water electrolysis are also discussed as well. According to the experimental observations, the direction of magnetism will determine the direction of Lorentz force, the convection of electrolytic solution, the direction of the bubbles motion, and then affect the efficiency of water electrolysis. Furthermore, ferromagnetism electrodes are more affected by magnetism, and multiply the Lorentz effect. It reduces the polarization and over-potential during electrolysis, and thus increases the effectiveness of hydrogen production. With the magnetic field at room temperature, electrode spacing of 2 mm and a voltage of 4 V, nickel electrodes (ferromagnetism material) can promote current density by 14.6%, and platinum electrodes (paramagnetism material) can promote current density by 10%. The promotion of current density is not significant for graphite electrodes (diamagnetism material). It indicates that the magnetic force does enhance the efficiency of water electrolysis, and ferromagnetism is the best choice for electrodes.

Background Previous guidelines suggest up to 15 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) accompanied by other resuscitative interventions before terminating resuscitation of a traumatic cardiac arrest. The current study evaluated the duration of CPR according to outcome using the model of a county-based emergency medical services (EMS) system in Taiwan. Methods This study was performed as a prospectively defined retrospective review from EMS records and cardiac arrest registration between June 2011 and November 2012 in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Results A total of 396 patients were enrolled. Among the blunt injuries, most incidents were traffic accidents (66.5%) followed by falls (31.5%). Bystander CPR was performed in 34 patients (8.6%). Of the patients, 18.4% were sent to intermediate to advanced level traumatic care hospitals. Although 4.8% of patients survived for 24 hours, only 2.3% survived to discharge, and 0.8% achieved cerebral performance category 1 or 2. Among all patients who developed return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 14.3% of ROSC was achieved within 15 minutes since CPR. Except for 1, most patients who developed ROSC over 24 hours but did not survive to discharge received CPR more than 15 minutes. Four of 6 patients who survived to discharge achieved ROSC after CPR for more than 15 minutes (16, 18, 22, and 24 minutes). Three patients discharged with cerebral performance category 1 or 2 received CPR for 6, 16, and 18 minutes, respectively. Conclusions Fifteen minutes of CPR before terminating resuscitation is inappropriate for patients undergoing traumatic cardiac arrsests, as longer duration resuscitation increases ROSC and survival.

Background. Whether pre-hospital laryngeal mask airway (LMA) use poses a survival benefit and should be approved as routine airway management in non-shockable cardiac arrest is of major concern. The present study examined the effective-ness of LMA, in comparison to other pre-hospital airway management on individuals who have experienced non-shockable cardiac arrest. Methods. Adult patients who experienced non-shockable cardiac arrest with activation of the emergency medical service (EMS) made up our study cohort in Taoyuan, Taiwan. The data were abstracted from EMS records and cardiac arrest regi-stration protocols. Results. Among the 1912 enrolled patients, most received LMA insertion (72.4%), 108 (5.6%) bag-valve-mask (BVM) venti-lation, 376 (19.7%) high-flow oxygen non-rebreather facemask, and only 44 (2.3%) received endotracheal tube intubation (ETI). With regard to survival to discharge, no significant differences in prevalence were evident among the groups: 2.8% of oxygen facial mask, 1.1% of BVM, 2.1% of LMA, and 4.5% of the ETI group survived to discharge (p = 0.314). In comparison to oxygen facial mask use, different types of airway management remained unassociated with survival to discharge after adjusting for variables by logistic regression analysis (BVM: 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.079 – 1.639 [p = 0.186]; LMA: 95% CI, 0.220–2.487 [p = 0.627]; ETI: 95% CI, 0.325–17.820 [p = 0.390]). The results of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test of logistic regression model revealed good calibration.Conclusions. Pre-hospital LMA use was not associated with additional survival to discharge compared with facial oxygen mask, BVM, or ETI following non-shockable cardiac arrest.

Background This study was performed to determine the effects of sodium bicarbonate injection during prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation (for > 15 minutes). Methods The retrospective cohort study consisted of adult patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with the diagnosis of cardiac arrest in 2009. Data were retrieved from the institutional database. Results A total of 92 patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on whether they were treated (group1, n = 30) or not treated (group 2, n = 62) with sodium bicarbonate. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between groups. The median time interval between the administration of CPR and sodium bicarbonate injection was 36.0 minutes (IQR: 30.5-41.8 minutes). The median amount of bicarbonate injection was 100.2 mEq (IQR: 66.8-104.4). Patients who received a sodium bicarbonate injection during prolonged CPR had a higher percentage of return of spontaneous circulation, but not statistical significant (ROSC, 40.0% vs. 32.3%; P = .465). Sustained ROSC was achieved by 2 (6.7%) patients in the sodium bicarbonate treatment group, with no survival to discharge. No significant differences in vital signs after ROSC were detected between the 2 groups (heart rate, P = .124; systolic blood pressure, P = .094). Sodium bicarbonate injection during prolonged CPR was not associated with ROSC after adjust for variables by regression analysis ( Table 3 ; P = .615; odds ratio, 1.270; 95% confidence interval: 0.501-3.219) Conclusions The administration of sodium bicarbonate during prolonged CPR did not significantly improve the rate of ROSC in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.