Early versus Later Rhythm Analysis in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 365; no. 9; pp. 787 - 797
• Main Authors: Stiell, Ian G, Nichol, Graham, Leroux, Brian G, Rea, Thomas D, Ornato, Joseph P, Powell, Judy, Christenson, James, Callaway, Clifton W, Kudenchuk, Peter J, Aufderheide, Tom P, Idris, Ahamed H, Daya, Mohamud R, Wang, Henry E, Morrison, Laurie J, Davis, Daniel, Andrusiek, Douglas, Stephens, Shannon, Cheskes, Sheldon, Schmicker, Robert H, Fowler, Ray, Vaillancourt, Christian, Hostler, David, Zive, Dana, Pirrallo, Ronald G, Vilke, Gary M, Sopko, George, Weisfeldt, Myron
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waltham, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 01.09.2011
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiac arrest; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - methods; Clinical trials; Consortia; CPR; Data processing; Electrocardiography; Emergency Medical Services; Fees & charges; Female; General aspects; Heart; Heart Rate; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Medical personnel; Medical research; Medical sciences; Neurological disorders; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - mortality; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - therapy; R&D; Research & development; Royalties; Stroke; Survival; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Canada; United States > US; Human; Medicine; Cardiocirculatory arrest; Cardiovascular disease; Out of hospital; Patient; Early; Rhythm; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1010076

Patients with cardiac arrest were assigned to either early analysis of cardiac rhythm (after 30 to 60 seconds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or later analysis (after 180 seconds). There was no significant difference between the groups in survival to hospital discharge. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a common and lethal problem, leading to an estimated 330,000 deaths each year in the United States and Canada. 1 Overall, the rate of survival to hospital discharge among patients with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who are treated by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel is low but varies greatly, with rates ranging from 3.0% to 16.3%. 1 This variation in the rate of survival can be attributed partly to local variations in the five key links in the chain of survival: rapid EMS access, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early defibrillation, early advanced cardiac life support, and effective care . . .