[Prehospital circumstances in cardiac arrest. A prospective study from Slagelse]

The circumstances surrounding the patients with cardiac arrest admitted to a Danish Central Hospital are presented. The study was performed as a prospective study. All patients admitted with cardiac arrest during one year to the Central Hospital in Slagelse were followed. One hundred and twenty-four patients were admitted. Sixty (51.2%) were dead on arrival to the Emergency Center and were not rescucitated. 60 patients received rescucitative treatment in the Emergency Center but 31 (25%) did not respond. Twenty-nine patients (23.4%) were primarily rescucitated. Sixteen patients were discharged alive from the hospital. We found a clear effect of a sufficient treatment during the transportation on the mortality rate. There was a borderline difference between the survival of the patients if a doctor was present at the scene of accident or during transportation. Treatment given by laymen at the scene of accident, and the transportation time per se did not influence the mortality.