The results of EuReCa ONE highlight that OHCA is still a major public health problem accounting for a substantial number of deaths in Europe. EuReCa ONE very clearly demonstrates marked differences in the processes for data collection and reported outcomes following OHCA all over Europe. Using these data and analyses, different countries, regions, systems, and concepts can benchmark themselves and may learn from each other to further improve survival following one of our major health care events.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the confrontation of the health system with the need to identify solutions for providing medical care to a very large number of patients. The main objective of our study was to describe the measures taken to provide optimal medical care to patients who presented themselves in one of the large emergency hospitals of Romania in the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective, observational study on a group of 1417 patients. The statistical analysis was performed using R. Results: The average length of stay of patients in the emergency departments was approximately 2.6 hours, increasing to up to 15 days in some more severe cases. For rapid antigen tests, the highest positivity rate for SARS-CoV-2 was identified in patients aged >75 years (53%). Among the identified risk factors associated with the need for mechanical ventilation were advanced age (α < 0.001) and lack of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (α < 0.001). Discussion and conclusions: A method of saving the Romanian health system in full hospital bed occupancy conditions in the wards proved to be the provision of medical care in emergency departments.