Abstract 339: Causes and Initial Cardiac Arrest Rhythms in a National Paediatric Cohort From Norway

Abstract

Background: Mortality following paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (POHCA) is high. Registration of any resuscitation attempt is mandated by law in the Norwegian Cardiac Arrest Registry (NorCAR), providing an opportunity to study precipitating causes from a nationwide population perspective. Research questions and aims The study set out to investigate the precipitating causes and the presenting rhythms of OHCA in children; enabling a focused approach to prevention and treatment of cardiac arrest in children. Methods: NorCAR data for children aged 0-17 years was extracted for 2016-21. Cases of perinatal resuscitation and children not receiving ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation by ambulance personnel were excluded. Descriptive statistics were used to create age-stratified summaries for presumed causes of POCHA and presenting rhythms. Results: In total, 308 children were included. Presumed causes of cardiac arrest included choking (n=67), cardiac aetiology (n=55), respiratory failure (n=51), sudden infant death syndrome (n=51), and drowning (n=37). The presumed causes differed substantially according to age (Figure). Non-shockable rhythms dominated (87%, 250 of 287 with available rhythm data). The proportion of shockable rhythms increased with age to 15 % (19 of 127) in the 13-17 year age group. Conclusion: The causes of POHCA were diverse and highly age dependent. This knowledge may inform both parents and caretakers, health professionals, and the whole community with respect to effective prevention, proper first aid, and focused emergency medical treatment.