Optimising telecommunicator recognition of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A scoping review.

Aim: To summarize existing literature and identify knowledge gaps regarding barriers and enablers of telecommunicators' recognition of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods: This scoping review was undertaken by an International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) Basic Life Support scoping review team and guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were peer-reviewed and explored barriers and enablers of telecommunicator recognition of OHCA. We searched Ovid MEDLINE® and Embase and included articles from database inception till June 18th, 2024. Results: We screened 9,244 studies and included 62 eligible studies on telecommunicator recognition of OHCA. The studies ranged in methodology. The majority were observational studies of emergency calls. The barriers most frequently described to OHCA recognition were breathing status and agonal breathing. The most frequently tested enabler for recognition was a variety of dispatch protocols focusing on breathing assessment. Only one randomized controlled trial (RCT) was identified, which found no difference in OHCA recognition with the addition of machine learning alerting telecommunicators in suspected OHCA cases. Conclusion: Most studies were observational, assessed barriers to recognition of OHCA and compared different dispatch protocols. Only one RCT was identified. Randomized trials should be conducted to inform how to improve telecommunicator recognition of OHCA, including recognition of pediatric OHCAs and assessment of dispatch protocols.

Incidence and Survival of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Public Housing Areas in 3 European Capitals.

BACKGROUND: Strategies to reach out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (called cardiac arrest) in residential areas and reduce disparities in care and outcomes are warranted. This study investigated incidences of cardiac arrests in public housing areas. METHODS: This register-based cohort study included cardiac arrest patients from Amsterdam (the Netherlands) from 2016 to 2021, Copenhagen (Denmark) from 2016 to 2021, and Vienna (Austria) from 2018 to 2021. Using Poisson regression adjusted for spatial correlation and city, we compared cardiac arrest incidence rates (number per square kilometer per year and number per 100 000 inhabitants per year) in public housing and other residential areas and examined the proportion of cardiac arrests within public housing and adjacent areas (100-m radius). RESULTS: Overall, 9152 patients were included of which 3038 (33.2%) cardiac arrests occurred in public housing areas and 2685 (29.3%) in adjacent areas. In Amsterdam, 635/1801 (35.3%) cardiac arrests occurred in public housing areas; in Copenhagen, 1036/3077 (33.7%); and in Vienna, 1367/4274 (32.0%). Public housing areas covered 42.4 (12.6%) of 336.7 km2 and 1 024 470 (24.6%) of 4 164 700 inhabitants. Across the capitals, we observed a lower probability of 30-day survival in public housing versus other residential areas (244/2803 [8.7%] versus 783/5532 [14.2%]). The incidence rates and rate ratio of cardiac arrest in public housing versus other residential areas were incidence rate, 16.5 versus 4.1 n/km2 per year; rate ratio, 3.46 (95% CI, 3.31-3.62) and incidence rate, 56.1 versus 36.8 n/100 000 inhabitants per year; rate ratio, 1.48 (95% CI, 1.42-1.55). The incidence rates and rate ratios in public housing versus other residential areas were consistent across the 3 capitals. CONCLUSIONS: Across 3 European capitals, one-third of cardiac arrests occurred in public housing areas, with an additional third in adjacent areas. Public housing areas exhibited consistently higher cardiac arrest incidences per square kilometer and 100 000 inhabitants and lower survival than other residential areas. Public housing areas could be a key target to improve cardiac arrest survival in countries with a public housing sector.

Community intervention to improve defibrillation before ambulance arrival in residential neighbourhoods with a high risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: study protocol of a cluster-randomised trial (the CARAMBA trial).

INTRODUCTION: In Denmark, multiple national initiatives have been associated with improved bystander defibrillation and survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in public places. However, OHCAs in residential neighbourhoods continue to have poor outcomes. The Cardiac Arrest in Residential Areas with MoBile volunteer responder Activation trial aims to improve bystander defibrillation and survival following OHCA in residential neighbourhoods with a high risk of OHCA. The intervention consists of: (1) strategically deployed automated external defibrillators accessible at all hours, (2) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training of residents and (3) recruitment of residents for a volunteer responder programme. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective, pair-matched, cluster-randomised, superiority trial with clusters of 26 residential neighbourhoods, testing the effectiveness of the intervention in a real-world setting. The areas are randomised for intervention or control. Intervention and control areas will receive the standard OHCA emergency response, including volunteer responder activation. However, targeted automated external defibrillator deployment, CPR training and volunteer responder recruitment will only be provided in the intervention areas. The primary outcome is bystander defibrillation, and the secondary outcome is 30-day survival. Data on patients who had an OHCA will be collected through the Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approval to store OHCA data has been granted from the Legal Office, Capital Region of Denmark (j.nr: 2012-58-0004, VD-2018-28, I-Suite no: 6222, and P-2021-670). In Denmark, formal approval from the ethics committee is only obtainable when the study regards testing medicine or medical equipment on humans or using genome or diagnostic imagine as data source. The Ethics Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark has evaluated the trial and waived formal approval unnecessary (H-19037170). Results will be published in peer-reviewed papers and shared with funders, stakeholders, and housing organisations through summaries and presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04446585).

Public Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Residential Neighborhoods.

BACKGROUND: Although one-half of all public out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) occur outside private homes in residential neighborhoods, their characteristics and outcomes remain unexplored. OBJECTIVES: The authors assessed interventions before ambulance arrival and survival for public OHCA patients in residential neighborhoods. METHODS: Public OHCAs from Vienna (2018-2021) and Copenhagen (2016-2020) were designated residential neighborhoods or nonresidential areas. Interventions (cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], automated external defibrillator [AED] attached, and defibrillation) and 30-day survival were compared using a generalized estimation equation model adjusted for age and time of day and presented as ORs. RESULTS: We included 1,052 and 654 public OHCAs from Vienna and Copenhagen, respectively, and 68% and 55% occurred in residential neighborhoods, respectively. The likelihood of CPR, defibrillation, and survival in residential neighborhoods vs nonresidential areas (reference) were as follows: CPR Vienna, 73% vs 78%, OR: 0.78 (95% CI: 0.57-1.06), CPR Copenhagen, 83% vs 90%, OR: 0.54 (95% CI: 0.34-0.88), and CPR combined, 76% vs 84%, OR: 0.70 (95% CI: 0.53-0.90); AED attached Vienna, 36% vs 44%, OR: 0.69 (95% CI: 0.53-0.90), AED attached Copenhagen, 21% vs 43%, OR: 0.33 (95% CI: 0.24-0.48), and AED attached combined, 31% vs 44%, OR: 0.53 (95% CI: 0.42-0.65); defibrillation Vienna, 14% vs 20%, OR: 0.61 (95% CI: 0.43-0.87), defibrillation Copenhagen, 16% vs 36%, OR: 0.35 (95% CI: 0.24-0.51), and defibrillation combined, 15% vs 27%, OR: 0.46 (95% CI: 0.36-0.61); and 30-day survival rate Vienna, 21% vs 26%, OR: 0.84 (95% CI: 0.58-1.20), 30-day survival rate Copenhagen, 33% vs 44%, OR: 0.65 (95% CI: 0.47-0.90), and 30-day survival rate combined, 25% vs 36%, OR: 0.73 (95% CI: 0.58-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Two-thirds of public OHCAs occurred in residential neighborhoods with fewer resuscitative efforts before ambulance arrival and lower survival than in nonresidential areas. Targeted efforts to improve early CPR and defibrillation for public OHCA patients in residential neighborhoods are needed.

Association Between Number of Volunteer Responders and Interventions Before Ambulance Arrival for Cardiac Arrest.

BACKGROUND: Volunteer responder (VR) programs for activation of laypersons in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have been deployed worldwide, but the optimal number of VRs to dispatch is unknown. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the number of VRs arriving before Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the proportion of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. METHODS: We included OHCAs not witnessed by EMS with VR activation from the Capital Region (September 2, 2017, to May 14, 2019) and the Central Region of Denmark (November 5, 2018, to December 31, 2019). We created 4 groups according to the number of VRs arriving before EMS: 0, 1, 2, and 3 or more. Using a logistic regression model adjusted for EMS response time, we examined associations between the number of VRs arriving before EMS and bystander CPR and defibrillation. RESULTS: We included 906 OHCAs. The adjusted ORs for bystander CPR were 2.40 (95% CI: 1.42-4.05), 3.18 (95% CI: 1.39-7.26), and 2.70 (95% CI: 1.32-5.52) when 1, 2, or 3 or more VRs arrived before EMS (reference), respectively. The adjusted OR for bystander defibrillation increased when 1 (1.97 [95% CI: 1.12-3.52]), 2 (2.88 [95% CI: 1.48-5.58]), or 3 or more (3.85 [95% CI: 2.11-7.01]) VRs arrived before EMS (reference). The adjusted OR of bystander defibrillation increased to 1.95 (95% CI: 1.18-3.22) when ≥3 VRs arrived first compared with 1 VR arriving first (reference). CONCLUSIONS: We found an association of increased bystander CPR and defibrillation when 1 or more VRs arrived before the EMS with a trend toward increased bystander defibrillation with increasing number of VRs arriving first.

Contemporary levels of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in Denmark.

Aim: Many efforts have been made to train the Danish population in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use. We assessed CPR and AED training levels among the broad Danish population and volunteer responders. Methods: In November 2018, an electronic cross-sectional survey was sent to (1) a representative sample of the general Danish population (by YouGov) and (2) all volunteer responders in the Capital Region of Denmark. Results: A total of 2,085 people from the general population and 7,768 volunteer responders (response rate 36%) completed the survey. Comparing the general Danish population with volunteer responders, 81.0% (95% CI 79.2-82.7%) vs. 99.2% (95% CI 99.0-99.4%) p < 0.001 reported CPR training, and 54.0% (95% CI 51.8; 56.2) vs. 89.5% (95% CI 88.9-90.2) p < 0.001 reported AED training, at some point in life.In the general population, the unemployed and the self-employed had the lowest proportion of training with CPR training at 71.9% (95% CI 68.3-75.4%) and 65.4% (95% CI 53.8-75.8%) and AED training at 39.0% (95% CI 35.2-42.9%) and 34.6% (95% CI 24.2-46.2%), respectively.Applicable to both populations, the workplace was the most frequent training provider. Among 18-29-year-olds in the general population, most reported training when acquiring a driver's license. Conclusions: A large majority of the Danish population and volunteer responders reported previous CPR/AED training. Mandatory training when acquiring a driver's license and training through the workplace seems to disseminate CPR/AED training effectively. However, new strategies reaching the unemployed and self-employed are warranted to ensure equal access.