Abstract 246: The Relationship Between Favorable Neurological Outcome in Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Due to Cardiac Etiology and Regional Disparity of the Number of Physicians

Abstract

Background: Cardiac arrest is a major public health issue worldwide. In Japan, the regional disparity of the number of physicians per 100000 population is also a major public health problem. However, it is unknown whether there is the relationship between favorable neurological outcome in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) due to cardiac etiology and this regional disparity. The aim of the present study was to clarify this relationship using the data of the All-Japan Utstein Registry, a prospective, nationwide, population-based registry of OHCA. Methods: From the data of the All-Japan Utstein Registry between 2011 and 2015, we included adult patients who had OHCA due to cardiac etiology. 47 prefectures of Japan were divided into quartiles on the basis of the number of physicians in each prefecture, reported by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan. In addition, study patients were divided into four groups based on these quartiles. We compared favorable neurological outcome at 30 days after OHCA in each group, using the multivariable logistic-regression analysis. Results: Four quartile ranges of the number of physicians were set for this study (Figure). Moreover, of the 629,471 OHCA victims between 2011 and 2015, 358,993 met the inclusion criteria. Figure represented favorable neurological outcome at 30 days after OHCA in each quartile. In the multivariable analysis, the adjusted odds ratios for Quartile 2, Quartile 3 and Quartile 4 compared with Quartile 1 for favorable neurological outcome at 30 days after OHCA was 0.971 (95%CI 0.918- 1.027; P=0.307), 1.011 (95%CI 0.956- 1.069; P=0.703) and 0.850 (95%CI 0.809- 0.893; P<0.001), respectively. Conclusion: The regions in which the number of physicians per 100000 population was larger were inferior to the regions in which the number of these was smaller, in terms of neurological benefits in patients with OHCA due to cardiac etiology.