Increased survival for resuscitated Utstein-comparator group patients conveyed directly to cardiac arrest centres in a large rural and suburban population in England.

AIM: The cohort of patients in which cardiac arrest centres (CAC) in rural and suburban populations confer the greatest survival benefit remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess whether the transfer of resuscitated Utstein-comparator out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients direct to a CAC was associated with improved survival to hospital discharge compared to patients conveyed to non-specialist centres. METHODS: A consecutive sample of adult (≥18 years old) Utstein-comparator patients (witnessed collapse and initial shockable rhythm) were included from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust Utstein resuscitation registry; 2018-2022. Logistic regression was used to compare survival to discharge in patients transported to CACs compared with patients transported to non-specialist centres. RESULTS: During the study period, resuscitation was attempted in 18,276 OHCA patients. N = 2448 (13.4%) met the Utstein-comparator definition and 1151 patients were included in the final analysis; per protocol. Survival was greater for patients conveyed directly to a CAC (n = 768, 60.7%) compared to non-specialist centres (n = 383, 47.3%); adjusted OR 1.44 (95%CI 1.07-1.94),p = 0.017. Amongst the centres analysed in this study, there was significant inter-hospital variability in survival between CACs (p = 0.017). There was no association between patient volume and survival (p = 0.850). CONCLUSION: Direct transport to a cardiac arrest centre was associated with a 44% increase in the odds of survival compared to conveyance to a non-specialist centre for resuscitated adult patients presenting with witnessed collapse and initial shockable OHCA rhythm.

Validation of the CREST model & Comparison with SCAI Shock Classification for Prediction of Circulatory Death in Resuscitated Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

OBJECTIVE: We validated the CREST model, a 5 variable score for stratifying risk of circulatory etiology death (CED) following out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), and compared its discrimination with the SCAI shock classification. BACKGROUND: CED occurs in approximately a third of patients admitted after resuscitated OHCA. There is an urgent need for improved stratification of the OHCA patient on arrival to a cardiac arrest centre to improve patient selection for invasive interventions. METHODS: The CREST model and SCAI shock classification were applied to a dual-centre registry of 723 patients with cardiac etiology OHCA, both with and without ST-elevation myocardial infarction, between May 2012 to December 2020. The primary endpoint was 30-day CED. RESULTS: Of 509 patients included (62.3 years, 75.4% male), 125 patients had CREST=0 (24.5%), 162 were CREST=1 (31.8%), 140 were CREST=2 (27.5%), 75 were CREST=3 (14.7%), 7 were CREST of 4 (1.4%) and no patients were CREST=5. CED was observed in 91 (17.9%) patients at 30 days [STEMI - 51/289 (17.6%); NSTEMI - 40/220 (18.2%)]. For the total population, and both NSTEMI & STEMI subpopulations, increasing CREST score was associated with increasing CED (all p<0.001). CREST score and SCAI classification had similar discrimination for the total population (AUC=0.72/calibration slope=0.95), NSTEMI cohort (AUC=0.75/calibration slope=0.940) and STEMI cohort (AUC=0.69 and calibration slope=0.925). AUC meta-analyses demonstrated no significant differences between the two classifications. CONCLUSIONS: The CREST model and SCAI shock classification have similar prediction for the development of CED after OHCA.