Long-term Mortality, Readmission, and Resource Utilization Among Hospital Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

BACKGROUND: Among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), the influence of pre- and in-hospital factors on long-term survival, readmission, and resource utilization is ill-defined, mainly related to challenges combining disparate data sources. METHODS: Adult nontraumatic OHCA from the British Columbia Cardiac Arrest Registry (January 2009 to December 2016) were linked to provincial datasets comprising comorbidities, medications, cardiac procedures, mortality, and hospital admission and discharge. Among hospital-discharge survivors, the 3-year end point of mortality or mortality and all-cause readmission was examined with the use of the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable Cox regression model for predictors. The use of publicly funded home care and community services within 1 year after discharge also was evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 10,674 linked, emergency medical services-treated adult OHCAs, 3230 were admitted to hospital and 1325 survived to hospital discharge. At 3 years after discharge, the estimated Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 84.1% (95% CI 81.7%-86.1%) and freedom from death or all-cause readmission was 31.8% (29.0%-34.7%). After exclusions, 26.6% (n = 315/1186) accessed residential or home care services within 1 year. Independent predictors of long-term outcomes included age and comorbidities, but also favourable arrest characteristics and in-hospital factors such as revascularization or receipt of an intracardiac defibrillator before discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Among OHCA hospital survivors, the long-term death or readmission risk persists and is modulated by both pre- and in-hospital factors. However, only 1 in 4 survivors required residential or home care after discharge. These results support efforts to improve care processes to increase survival to hospital discharge.

The association of scene-access delay and survival with favourable neurological status in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Rapid emergency medical service (EMS) response after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major determinant of survival, however this is typically measured until EMS vehicle arrival. We sought to investigate whether the interval from EMS vehicle arrival to patient attendance (curb-to-care interval [CTC]) was associated with patient outcomes. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of the "CCC Trial" dataset, which includes EMS-treated adult non-traumatic OHCA. We fit an adjusted logistic regression model to estimate the association between CTC interval (divided into quartiles) and the primary outcome (survival with favourable neurologic status at hospital discharge; mRS ≤ 3). We described the CTC interval distribution among enrolling clusters. RESULTS: We included 24,685 patients: median age was 68 (IQR 56-81), 23% had initial shockable rhythms, and 7.6% survived with favourable neurological status. Compared to the first quartile (≤62 s), longer CTC quartiles (63-115, 116-180, and ≥181 s) demonstrated the following associations with survival with favourable neurological status: adjusted odds ratios 0.95, 95% CI 0.83-1.09; 0.77, 95% CI 0.66-0.89; 0.66, 95% CI 0.56-0.77, respectively. Of the 49 study clusters, median CTC intervals ranged from 86 (IQR 58-130) to 179 s (IQR 112-256). CONCLUSION: A lower CTC interval was associated with improved patient outcomes. These results demonstrate a wide range of access metrics within North America, and provide a rationale to create protocols to mitigate access obstacles. A 2-min CTC threshold may represent an appropriate target for quality improvement.

North American validation of the Bokutoh criteria for withholding professional resuscitation in non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Certain subgroups of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) may not benefit from treatment. Early identification of this cohort in the prehospital (EMS) setting prior to any resuscitative efforts would prevent futile medical therapy and more appropriately allocate EMS and hospital resources. We sought to validate a clinical criteria from Bokutoh, Japan that identified a subgroup of OHCAs for whom withholding resuscitation may be appropriate. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of the "Trial of Continuous or Interrupted Chest Compressions during CPR", which enrolled EMS-treated adult non-traumatic OHCA. We classified patients as per the Bokutoh criteria ("Bokutoh Positive": age ≥ 73, unwitnessed arrest, non-shockable initial rhythm) and calculated test performance for the primary outcome of favourable neurologic outcome (mRS ≤ 3) at hospital discharge. We calculated the number of EMS-hours and hospital days per patient with a favourable neurologic outcome. RESULTS: Of 26,148 patients in the parent trial, 5442 (21%) were "Bokutoh Positive", among whom 0.51% (95% CI 0.35- 0.75%) had favourable neurologic outcomes, and 1.2% (95% CI 0.92-1.5%) survived. The positive predictive value was 0.995 (95% CI 0.992-0.997). EMS and hospital-based resource utilization per favourable neurological outcome was 91 h and 199 days for in the "Bokutok Positive" group, respectively, and 5.7 h and 33 hospital days in the "Bokutok Negative" group. CONCLUSION: In this validation of the Bokutoh criteria in a large North American cohort of OHCA patients, 0.51% meeting criteria had favourable neurological outcomes. This may rapidly and reliably identify the one-fifth of OHCA who are very unlikely to benefit from resuscitation.