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Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Cork, Ireland

Kieran Henry1, Adrian Murphy, David Willis

  • 1National Ambulance Service, HSE Southern Region, South Link Road, Cork, Ireland. henrykieran@gmail.com

Emergency Medicine Journal : EMJ
|June 19, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Ireland remains low at 7.4%. Improving care for shockable rhythms, which had a 16.7% survival rate, is key to increasing overall OHCA survival.

Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) causes significant mortality in Ireland, with limited data on survival rates.
  • This study focuses on presumed cardiac OHCA cases attended by the Ambulance Service in Cork City and County.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize and describe presumed cardiac OHCA events in Cork City and County.
  • To analyze survival outcomes and identify factors influencing them.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of dispatch, ambulance, and hospital records over a 1-year period.
  • Inclusion criteria: presumed cardiac OHCA attended by the Ambulance Service.
  • Data collected: patient demographics, OHCA characteristics, interventions, and outcomes.

Main Results:

  • 231 presumed cardiac OHCAs were attended; 56% urban, 44% rural.
  • Lay-witnessed resuscitation occurred in 20%, bystander CPR in 22%.
  • Overall survival to hospital discharge was 7.4%; survival for shockable rhythms was 16.7%.

Conclusions:

  • The 7.4% overall survival rate highlights a need for improved OHCA management in Ireland.
  • A 16.7% survival rate in shockable rhythms indicates potential for improvement.
  • Implementing a clinical-quality cardiac arrest registry is recommended for monitoring and enhancing patient care.
Abstract

Keywords:
CBRNCardiac arrestOHCAacute coronary syndromealcohol abuseanaesthesiabasic ambulance carecardiac careclinical caredoctors in PHCeducationeffectivenessemergency ambulance systemsemergency servicesepidemiologyethicsmajor trauma managementoutcomeparamedicspre-hospitalregistryresuscitationruraltrainingtraumatreatmentultrasoundurban

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