[How I treat ... out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The role of the emergency medical dispatcher]. / Comment je traite ... l'arrêt cardio-respiratoire extrahospitalier: la fenêtre du centraliste 112.

Sudden cardiac arrest is an event associated with a very low survival rate. The latter is inversely proportional to the duration of the cardiovascular arrest. The chain of survival concept is a sequence of 4 events to be carried out as fast as possible with a view to ensure the patient's survival. This sequence consists of early access to and activation of the emergency medical system, early initiation of basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation and early specialized care. The number of potential witnesses trained in Basic Life Support (BLS) does not guarantee an adequate basic resuscitation before the arrival of medical aid. In order to optimize the management of victims and callers, the concept of dispatching-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation based on a structured protocol has been implemented. The implementation of this plan to improve the quality of call handling required training and assessment of impacts on beneficiaries. The research datashow a reduction of the duration of cardiac arrest, an increase in resuscitation initiated by a witness, an improved survival rate, and a decreased stress and unanimous approval of dispatchers. Currently, the process is being improved and sustained.

[The alert algorithm: why, for whom, how, and when?]. / L'algorithme ALERT. Pourquoi, qui, comment, quand ?

Phone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) assists any cardiac arrest witness, previously trained or not, through standardized instructions given by phone. These instructions are intended to guide the bystander in checking for responsiveness, opening the airway and checking for adequate breathing, and to initiate chest compressions in case of apparent death. The "Algorithme Liégeois d'Encadrement à la Réanimation par Té1éphone" (ALERT) is an original phone CPR protocol helping the dispatchers to guide callers during the dispatcher's time window, between the beginning of the call and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrival on scene. Its use has been demonstrated to increase the frequency and performance of bystanders' initial CPR efforts. Such improvement might increase the survival chances of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims (OOHCA).