Abstract 16: Dispatched Citizen Responders Perform Three Out of Four of all Bystander Defibrillated Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Residential Areas

Abstract

Introduction: Bystander defibrillation has increased in public locations but remained stagnated around 2% in private homes, where most out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur. Hypothesis: Dispatching citizen responders through a smartphone application can increase bystander defibrillation in residential OHCAs. Methods: From September 2017-2018, a total of 23,117 (1,284/100,000) citizen responders and 5,225 (290/100,000) automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were registered in the Capital Region of Denmark (1.8 mil. inhabitants). In case of suspected OHCA, up to 20 citizen responders <1.8 km (1.1 miles) from the OHCA were alerted and dispatched to either start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or to retrieve an AED. Activated citizen responders received a survey where they reported whether they arrived before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and defibrillated the patient. Results: Of 433 consecutive OHCAs included, 354 (81.8%) were residential OHCAs. Compared with citizen responders in public locations, those in residential areas were a median of 100m further away from OHCAs but were equally likely to arrive before EMS (~40% of both residential and public OHCAs). A total of 9.3% (33 of 354) of all residential OHCAs were bystander defibrillated. Citizen responders were responsible for 75.8% (25 out of 33) of all bystander defibrillated OHCAs in residential areas compared to 50.0% (13 out of 26) of all bystander defibrillated OHCAs in public areas (Table 1). Conclusions: Dispatched citizen responders arrived before EMS in 40.1% (142 of 354) of all residential OHCAs and performed three out of four of all bystander defibrillated OHCAs in residential areas.