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Care for patients who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has rapidly evolved in the past decade. Increased sophistication of care in the community, emergency medical services (EMS) and hospital setting is associated with improved patient-centred outcomes. Notably, Utstein survival doubled from 11.6% to 23.1% between 2011 and 2016. These achievements involved collaboration between policymakers, clinicians and researchers, and were made possible by a strategic interplay of policy, research and implementation. We review the development and current state of OHCA in Singapore using primary population-based data from the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study and an unstructured search of research databases. We discuss the roles of important milestones in policy, community, dispatch, EMS and hospital interventions. Finally, we relate these interventions to relevant processes and outcomes, such as the relationship between the strategic implementation of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and placement of automated external defibrillator with return of spontaneous circulation, survival to discharge and survival with favourable neurological outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) characteristics of patients stratified by age who had resuscitation attempted and were transported to tertiary emergency medical institutions in Osaka Prefecture, Japan; especially those of advanced age. Methods: A prospective, population‐based, observational review was carried out of consecutive OHCA patients with emergency responder resuscitation attempts from July 2012 to December 2016 in Osaka, Japan. Patients were classified into four groups: (i) 18–64 years; (ii) 65–74 years; (iii) 75–84 years; and (iv) ≥85 years. Patient, event and treatment characteristics were examined for patients with presumed cardiac etiology of OHCA. The primary outcome was the 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome. Results: A total of 4636 patients with OHCA of presumed cardiac origin were transported to tertiary emergency medical institutions. The number of patients in the four groups was as follows: (i) 1290 (27.8%); (ii) 1102 (23.8%); (iii) 1420 (30.6%); and (iv) 824 (17.8%). The 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome was: (i) 207 (16.0%); (ii) 96 (8.7%); (iii) 60 (4.2%); and (iv) seven (0.85%). In a multivariate analysis for 1‐month survival with a neurologically favorable outcome, increased age was a significant prognostic factor (≥85 years; adjusted odds ratio 0.08, 95% confidence interval 0.03–0.23) for poor outcomes. Conclusions: In this population, advanced age (≥85 years) was strongly associated with poor outcomes. Further discussion of policies directed at resuscitation of very elderly OHCA patients is required, considering limited medical resources and the rapidly aging population in Japan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 1088–1095. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Frontline health care workers are experiencing a myriad of physical and psychosocial challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There is growing recognition that digital technologies have the potential to improve the well-being of frontline workers. However, there has been limited development of wellness interventions using mobile health (mHealth) technology. More importantly, little research has been conducted on how frontline workers perceive mHealth-based support to promote their well-being.Objective: This study aimed to explore frontline workers' experience of conventional psychological wellness programs and their perceptions of the usefulness of mHealth apps and features for promoting well-being. It also sought to identify factors that could potentially influence uptake and retention of an mHealth-based wellness program.Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews using purposive sampling with frontline workers involved in the COVID-19 response. Various visual materials, collated from existing mHealth app features, were presented to facilitate discussion. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis based on grounded theory was undertaken. Themes were subsequently mapped to key nudge strategies-those commonly used for mHealth development-to assess participants' preferences for particular features and their reasoning.Results: A total of 42 frontline workers participated in 12 one-on-one interviews or focus group discussions. Frontline workers generally had a limited ability to identify their own psychological problems and liked the reminders functionality of the app to track their mood over time. A personalized goal-setting feature (ie, tailoring) and in-app resources were generally valued, while frequent coaching and messages (ie, framing) were seen as a distraction. The majority of participants desired a built-in chat function with a counselor (ie, guidance) for reasons of accessibility and protection of privacy. Very few participants appreciated a gamification function. Frontline workers commonly reported the need for ongoing social support and desired access to an in-app peer support community (ie, social influence). There were, however, concerns regarding potential risks from virtual peer interactions. Intrinsic motivational factors, mHealth app technicality, and tangible rewards were identified as critical for uptake and retention.Conclusions: Our study highlights the potential of mHealth apps with relevant features to be used as wellness tools by frontline health care workers. Future work should focus on developing a nonintrusive and personalized mHealth app with in-app counseling, peer support to improve well-being, and tangible and extrinsic rewards to foster continued use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate factors associated with survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Viet Nam., Methods: We did a multicentre prospective observational study of people (> 18 years) presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (not caused by trauma) to three tertiary hospitals in Viet Nam from February 2014 to December 2018. We collected data on characteristics, management and outcomes of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and compared these data by type of transportation to hospital and survival to hospital admission. We assessed factors associated with survival to admission to and discharge from hospital using logistic regression analysis., Findings: Of 590 eligible people with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, 440 (74.6%) were male and the mean age was 56.1 years (standard deviation: 17.2). Only 24.2% (143/590) of these people survived to hospital admission and 14.1% (83/590) survived to hospital discharge. Most cardiac arrests (67.8%; 400/590) occurred at home, 79.4% (444/559) were witnessed by bystanders and 22.3% (124/555) were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by a bystander. Only 8.6% (51/590) of the people were taken to hospital by the emergency medical services and 32.2% (49/152) received pre-hospital defibrillation. Pre-hospital defibrillation (odds ratio, OR: 3.90; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.54-9.90) and return of spontaneous circulation in the emergency department (OR: 2.89; 95% CI: 1.03-8.12) were associated with survival to hospital admission. Hypothermia therapy during post-resuscitation care was associated with survival to discharge (OR: 5.44; 95% CI: 2.33-12.74)., Conclusion: Improvements are needed in the emergency medical services in Viet Nam such as increasing bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and public access defibrillation, and improving ambulance and post-resuscitation care., ((c) World Health Organization (WHO) 2021. All rights reserved.)

Objective: We aimed to determine whether there is a seasonal variation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in an equatorial climate, which does not experience seasonal environmental change., Methods: We conducted an observational prospective study looking at the occurrence of OHCA in Singapore. Included were all patients with OHCA presented to Emergency Departments across the country. We examined the monthly, daily, and hourly number of cases over a three-year period. Data was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA)., Results: From October, 1st 2001 to October, 14th 2004, 2428 patients were enrolled in the study. Mean age for cardiac arrests was 60.6 years with 68.0% male. Ethnic distribution was 69.5% Chinese, 15.0% Malay, 11.0% Indian, and 4.4% Others. There was no significant seasonal variation (spring/summer/fall/winter) of events (ANOVA P = 0.71), monthly variation (P = 0.88) or yearly variation (P = 0.26). We did find weekly peaks on Mondays and a circadian pattern with daily peaks from 9-10 am., Conclusions: We did not find any discernable seasonal pattern of cardiac arrests. This contrasts with findings from temperate countries and suggests a climatic influence on cardiac arrest occurrence. We also found that sudden cardiac arrests follow a circadian pattern.

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of local primary health care physicians in relation to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation., Methods: We conducted a survey on general practitioners in Singapore by using a self-administered questionnaire that comprised 29 questions., Results: The response rate was 80%, with 60 of 75 physicians completing the questionnaire. The average age of the respondents was 52 years. Sixty percent of them reported that they knew how to operate an automated external defibrillator (AED), and 38% had attended AED training. Only 36% were willing to perform mouth-to-mouth ventilation during CPR, and 53% preferred chest compression-only resuscitation (CCR) to standard CPR. We found those aged <50 years were more likely to be trained in basic cardiac life support (BCLS) (P < 0.001) and advanced cardiac life support (P = 0.005) or to have ever attended to a patient with cardiac arrest (P = 0.007). Female physicians tended to agree that all clinics should have AEDs (P = 0.005) and support legislation to make AEDs compulsory in clinics (P < 0.001). We also found that a large proportion of physicians who were trained in BCLS (P = 0.006) were willing to perform mouth-to-mouth ventilation., Conclusion: Most local primary care physicians realize the importance of defibrillation, and the majority prefer CCR to standard CPR.