Effect of timing of advanced life support on out-of-hospital cardiac arrests at home

Abstract

AimIn cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occurring at home, Japanese emergency medical services personnel decide whether to provide treatment on the scene or during transport based on their judgment. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the timing of advanced life support (ALS) (i.e., endotracheal intubation [ETI] or adrenaline administration) for OHCA at home and prognosis. MethodThis retrospective cohort study used data from the Japan Utstein Registry and emergency transport data collected from patients who underwent pre-hospital ETI (n = 6806) and received adrenaline (n = 22,636) between 2016 and 2019. The timing of ETI or adrenaline administration was determined as “on the scene” or “in the ambulance.” Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association among the timing of ALS implementation, pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and survival at 1 month. ResultETI on the scene was significantly positively associated with pre-hospital ROSC (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.57–2.09) and survival at 1 month (AOR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.47–2.23). Adrenaline administration on the scene was significantly positively associated with pre-hospital ROSC (AOR, 2.51; 95% CI, 2.33–2.70) and survival at 1 month (AOR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.89–2.40). ConclusionOur analysis suggests performing ALS on the scene was associated with pre-hospital ROSC and survival at 1 month. Further efforts are needed to increase the rate of ALS implementation on the scene by emergency life-saving technicians.