The impact of increased chest compression fraction on survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with a non-shockable initial rhythm.

Objective: We evaluated the effect of chest compression fraction (CCF) on survival to hospital discharge and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with non-shockable rhythms.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis (completed in 2016) of a prospective cohort study which included OHCA patients from ten U.S.

A Comparison of Invasive Airway Management and Rates of Pneumonia in Prehospital and Hospital Settings.

Introduction: Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in trauma. Infection in trauma is poorly understood. The impact of prehospital invasive airway management (IAM) on the incidence of pneumonia and health services utilization is unknown.

Volume versus outcome: More emergency medical services personnel on-scene and increased survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background And Aim: The large regional variation in survival after treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is incompletely explained. Communities respond to OHCA with differing number of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel who respond to the scene. The effect of different numbers of EMS personnel on-scene upon outcomes is unclear.

Emergency department visit rates and patterns in Canada's Vancouver coastal health region.

This study used administrative health data to describe emergency department (ED) visits by residents from assisted living and nursing home facilities in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, British Columbia. We compared ED visit rates, the distribution of visits per resident, and ED dispositions of the assisted living and nursing home populations over a 3-year period (2005-2008). There were 13,051 individuals in our study population.

Early coronary angiography and induced hypothermia are associated with survival and functional recovery after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: The rate and effect of coronary interventions and induced hypothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are unknown. We measured the association of early (≤24h after arrival) coronary angiography, reperfusion, and induced hypothermia with favorable outcome after OHCA.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter clinical trial (NCT00394706) conducted between 2007 and 2009 in 10 North American regions.

Nursing home characteristics associated with resident transfers to emergency departments.

This study examined how nursing home facility ownership and organizational characteristics relate to emergency department (ED) transfer rates. The sample included a retrospective cohort of nursing home residents in the Vancouver Coastal Health region (n = 13,140). Rates of ED transfers were compared between nursing home ownership types.

Socioeconomic status and incidence of sudden cardiac arrest.

Background: Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor cardiovascular health. We evaluated the association between socioeconomic status and the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that accounts for a substantial proportion of cardiovascular-related deaths, in seven large North American urban populations.

Methods: Using a population-based registry, we collected data on out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occurring at home or at a residential institution from Apr.

A trial of an impedance threshold device in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: The impedance threshold device (ITD) is designed to enhance venous return and cardiac output during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by increasing the degree of negative intrathoracic pressure. Previous studies have suggested that the use of an ITD during CPR may improve survival rates after cardiac arrest.

Methods: We compared the use of an active ITD with that of a sham ITD in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who underwent standard CPR at 10 sites in the United States and Canada.

Early versus later rhythm analysis in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: In a departure from the previous strategy of immediate defibrillation, the 2005 resuscitation guidelines from the American Heart Association-International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation suggested that emergency medical service (EMS) personnel could provide 2 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before the first analysis of cardiac rhythm. We compared the strategy of a brief period of CPR with early analysis of rhythm with the strategy of a longer period of CPR with delayed analysis of rhythm.

Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving adults with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest at 10 Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium sites in the United States and Canada.

The impact of increased chest compression fraction on return of spontaneous circulation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients not in ventricular fibrillation.

Objective: Greater chest compression fraction (CCF, or proportion of CPR time spent providing compressions) is associated with better survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) patients in ventricular fibrillation (VF). We evaluated the effect of CCF on return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in OOHCA patients with non-VF ECG rhythms in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Epistry.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included OOHCA patients if: not witnessed by EMS, no automated external defibrillator (AED) shock prior to EMS arrival, received >1 min of CPR with CPR process measures available, and initial non-VF rhythm.

Chest compression fraction determines survival in patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation.

Background: Quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation contributes to cardiac arrest survival. The proportion of time in which chest compressions are performed in each minute of cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an important modifiable aspect of quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We sought to estimate the effect of an increasing proportion of time spent performing chest compressions during cardiac arrest on survival to hospital discharge in patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.

A descriptive analysis of Emergency Medical Service Systems participating in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) network.

Background: The optimal Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system characteristics have not been defined, resulting in substantial variability across systems. The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) is a United States-Canada research network that organized EMS agencies from 11 different systems to perform controlled trials in cardiac arrest and life-threatening trauma resuscitation.

Objectives: To describe EMS systems participating in ROC using a novel framework.