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Relation of Medical History to the Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Managed by Emergency Medical Services

Kari Heinonen1, Nea Lehtimäki, Pertti Suominen

  • 1From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, and Pain Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital; †Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences; ‡Helsinki Children's Hospital; and §Emergency Medical Services, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Pediatric Emergency Care
|January 20, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Most pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients had prior medical conditions, with psychiatric disorders being common. Trauma was a frequent cause of OHCA, especially in those with psychiatric histories.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in children is a critical medical emergency.
  • Understanding pre-existing conditions in pediatric OHCA patients is crucial for risk stratification and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the medical history of pediatric OHCA patients.
  • To identify pre-existing medical or surgical conditions associated with OHCA in children.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective population-based cohort study in Helsinki.
  • Inclusion of all pediatric OHCA patients (0-17 years) attended by emergency medical services (EMS) from 2002-2011.
  • Review of medical records for pre-existing conditions.

Main Results:

  • Forty-three pediatric OHCA cases were identified.
  • The leading causes of OHCA were trauma (30.2%), sudden infant death syndrome (18.6%), and cardiac issues (14.0%).
  • A majority of patients (65.1%) had prior medical records, with common conditions including perinatal adaptation abnormalities (20.9%), psychiatric treatment (16.3%), and epilepsy (13.9%).
  • Trauma-related OHCA was more common in patients with prior psychiatric diagnoses.
  • Half of 17-year-old OHCA patients had psychiatric records.

Conclusions:

  • Most pediatric OHCA patients have a history of significant medical conditions.
  • Psychiatric disorders were notably prevalent among pediatric OHCA patients.
  • Pre-existing conditions, particularly psychiatric disorders, may be linked to OHCA risk in children.
Abstract

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