On-Scene Resuscitation More Effective Than Transporting Cardiac Arrest Patients to Hospital
A new study by members Brian Grunau and Jim Christenson concludes that out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients who receive on-scene resuscitation have better survival rates compared to those who receive resuscitation during hospital transport.
There is wide variability among paramedic (OHCA) resuscitation efforts. As a result, it’s been unclear how intra-arrest transport during resuscitation compared with on-scene resuscitation.
“Overall these results support a strategy that paramedics dedicate effort and expertise at the scene of the cardiac arrest, rather than prioritizing transport to hospital” says Dr. Grunau. (Via UBC DEM).
The evidence suggests survival can be improved if paramedics are trained to perform the best quality of resuscitation possible at the scene of the cardiac arrest, rather than prioritizing transport to hospital. (Via UBC News)
View the Study
Association of Intra-arrest Transport vs Continued On-Scene Resuscitation With Survival to Hospital Discharge Among Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (JAMA, Sept. 15, 2020)
Related Research
Brian Gruau and Jim Christenson are co-leads for the EM Network Reversing Sudden Unexpected Death (OHCA) research program.
World Restart a Heart Day
Oct. 16th is World Restart a Heart Day. This global day of awareness brings focus to bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This year, Brian Grunau and Jim Christenson worked with Heart & Stroke BC to release new, hands-only CPR guidelines. The new guidelines reduce the potential risk of public responders contracting COVID-19 when providing CPR.
Clinical Resources
View Clinical Resources on Cardiac Arrest
