Epidemiology and outcomes of out of hospital cardiac arrest in Saudi Arabia: Findings from the Saudi Out of Hospital cardiac Arrest Registry (SOHAR).

Aim: The Saudi Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Registry (SOHAR) is the first out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of OHCA in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: The SOHAR is a prospective data collection system. Data were collected monthly from defined regions, and registry measured variables were adopted from the Utstein recommendations.

Results: During the period from 01/01/2019 to 31/12/2022, 3671 patients were included in the registry. The mean age was 62 years, and 6.5% (240) of patients were under the age of 18 years. The most common cause of OHCA was medical 3439 (93.6%). A total of 641 (17.4%) and 129 (3.9%) had presumed cardiac and respiratory causes. Additionally, most OHCA in Saudi Arabia (3034, 82.6%) occurred at home. Prehospital Return Of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) was achieved in 275 (7.4%) cases, and 491 (13.3%) patients were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Survival to hospital discharge was achieved in 107 (2.9%) of the cases, and good neurological outcomes, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) of 1-3, occurred in < 0.5% of patients.

Conclusion: The Saudi out-of-hospital ROSC was 7.4%. The survival to hospital discharge rate was 2.9%, and less than 1% of patients were discharged with good neurological outcomes. Further research and the continuation of registry data collection is highly recommended. Additionally, a national-level out-of-hospital cardiac arrest system is recommended to ensure the standardization of medical care provided to patients with OHCA.