Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a leading cause of death and a 2010 meta-analysis concluded that outcomes have not improved over several decades. However, guidelines have changed to emphasize CPR quality, minimization of interruptions, and standardized post-resuscitation care. We sought to evaluate whether OHCA outcomes have improved over time among agencies participating in the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) cardiac arrest registry (Epistry) and randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Methods Observational cohort study of 47,148 EMS-treated OHCA cases in Epistry from 139 EMS agencies at 10 ROC sites that participated in at least one RCT between 1/1/2006 and 12/31/2010. We reviewed patient, scene, event characteristics, and outcomes of EMS-treated OHCA over time, including subgroups with initial rhythm of pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF). Results Mean response interval, median age and male proportion remained similar over time. Unadjusted survival to discharge increased between 2006 and 2010 for treated OHCA (from 8.2% to 10.4%), as well as for subgroups of VT/VF (21.4% to 29.3%) and bystander witnessed VT/VF (23.5% to 30.3%). Compared with 2006, adjusted survival to discharge was significantly higher in 2010 for treated cases (OR = 1.72; 95% CI 1.53, 1.94), VT/VF cases (OR = 1.69; 95% CI 1.45, 1.98) and bystander witnessed VT/VF cases (OR = 1.65; 95% CI 1.36, 2.00). Tests for trend in each subgroup were significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions ROC-wide survival increased significantly between 2006 and 2010. Additional research efforts are warranted to identify specific factors associated with this improvement.

We found a paucity of scientific literature exploring patient safety in EMS. Research is needed to improve our understanding of problem magnitude and threats to patient safety and to guide interventions.

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Bystander automated external defibrillator use before emergency medical services arrival in shockable observed public OHCA was associated with better survival and functional outcomes. Continued emphasis on public automated external defibrillator utilization programs may further improve outcomes of OHCA.

Study Objective We evaluated shock and traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients previously enrolled in an out-of-hospital clinical trial to test the association between out-of-hospital time and outcome. Methods This was a secondary analysis of shock and TBI patients ≥ 15 years enrolled in a Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium out-of-hospital clinical trial by 81 EMS agencies transporting to 46 Level I and II trauma centers in 11 sites (May 2006 through May 2009). Inclusion criteria were: SBP ≤ 70 mmHg or SBP 71 - 90 mmHg with heart rate ≥ 108 beats per minute (shock cohort) and Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤ 8 (TBI cohort); patients meeting both criteria were placed in the shock cohort. Primary outcomes were 28-day mortality (shock cohort) and 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale - Extended (GOSE) ≤ 4 (TBI cohort). Results There were 778 patients in the shock cohort (26% 28-day mortality) and 1,239 patients in the TBI cohort (53% 6-month GOSE ≤ 4). Out-of-hospital time > 60 minutes was not associated with worse outcomes after accounting for important confounders in the shock cohort (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.42, 95% CI 0.77-2.62) or TBI cohort (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.52-1.21). However, shock patients requiring early critical hospital resources and arriving > 60 minutes had higher 28-day mortality (aOR 2.37, 95% CI 1.05-5.37); this finding was not observed among a similar TBI subgroup. Conclusions Among out-of-hospital trauma patients meeting physiologic criteria for shock and TBI, there was no association between time and outcome. However, the subgroup of shock patients requiring early critical resources arriving after 60 minutes had higher mortality.

Survival after OHCA has improved over time. This trend was associated with improved rates of bystander CPR, automated external defibrillator use, high-quality CPR metrics, and in-hospital targeted temperature management. The results suggest that multiple factors, each improving over time, may have contributed to the observed increase in survival.

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