Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: From the Field to Discharge: A Contemporary Cohort

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) poses a considerable health burden and offers poor prognosis. Information about OHCA in Israel is scarce.

To present a pilot registry of prehospital and in-hospital characteristics of patients with OHCA.

A descriptive study was conducted of consecutive adult patients with OHCA treated in the field by Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics and treated at the Sheba Medical Center.

The study included 99 patients with OHCA who were brought by MDA to the Sheba Medical Center. The median age was 79 years (IQR 67-89(, 61% were male. In total, 69% of the events occurred at home, 16% at nursing facilities, 10% on streets, and 2% in public buildings. Most events (80%) were witnessed. Bystander-basic life support (BLS) was administered to 28%, 45% received BLS from an emergency medical service first responder. Automated external defibrillation was used in 40% of cases. In our cohort, 51 patients (51%) survived initial treatment in the emergency department (ED) and were hospitalized. Electrocardiography at arrival demonstrated ST-elevation in 22% of cases. Coronary angiography was performed in 19% (n=19) of patients, and 12% (n=12) underwent percutaneous intervention. Eventually, 26 patients (26%) survived to discharge with a Cerebral performance categories were as follows: 13% (n=13) with good cerebral performance, 10% (n=10) with moderate disability, and 3% (n=3) with severe disability or unconscious.

Among those admitted after surviving ED resuscitation, half survived to discharge. Most of those who survived hospitalization and were discharged with good neurological performance were young males.