Video Review of Cardiac Arrest: A Scoping Review

As there is no published review of video review use in cardiac arrest (CA) research, we set out to perform a scoping review to describe the demographics, settings, interventions, and outcomes in the literature.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework for scoping reviews, we queried PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from inception through April 22, 2024, and then updated the query to cover publications through March 7, 2025, including adult CA studies using video-derived data from prehospital, emergency department, or intensive care settings, excluding pediatric and simulation studies. Independent screening and data extraction were both performed by 2 of the reviewers, with a third reviewer and principal investigator resolving discrepancies, respectively. Extracted data encompassed study aims, setting, patient demographics, video review reliability, and detailed information on outcomes, metrics (eg, chest compression fraction), and interventions (eg, intubation).

From 3081 identified publications, 76 were included, with 64.5% being manuscripts. They originated from the USA (48.7%), Asia (31.6%), and Europe (19.7%). Studies were predominantly single center (98.7%), from urban settings (82.9%), with retrospective (47.4%) or prospective (31.6%) observational designs. There was marked heterogeneity in reporting methodologies. The median number of patients enrolled was 71. Interrater reliability was reported in only 12 studies. Common reported patient outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation (39.5%), key metrics such as duration of interruptions (52.6%), and time-to-events (51.3%). Frequently reported interventions included mechanical compression device use (36.8%), defibrillation (34.2%), and intubation (28.9%). Publication volume significantly increased over the last 2 decades.

Video review enables a precise, multidomain assessment of resuscitation performance of CA that conventional data sources cannot provide. Future work should prioritize consensus definitions and establishing minimum reporting standards.