Summary
Epidemiologic differences between cardiac arrests attended in the home and in public locations in the Basque Country
Ballesteros Peña S
Affiliation of the authors
Bilbao SAMUR – Protección Civil, Ayuntamiento de Bilbao, Spain.
DOI
Quote
Ballesteros Peña S. Epidemiologic differences between cardiac arrests attended in the home and in public locations in the Basque Country. Emergencias. 2014;26:125-8
Summary
Objective: To analyze the characteristics of cardiac arrests that emergency responders
evaluated for resuscitation in the home in comparison with those attended in public
locations.
Methods: Observational study carried out in the Basque Country, Spain. Clinical data
were collected for cardiac arrest patients evaluated for resuscitation by responders from
basic life support services over a period of 18 months. Epidemiologic characteristics were
compared between arrests occurring in the home vs in a public location. The relation
between exposure factors and event location was explored by performing multiple
regression analysis.
Results: A total of 1050 cardiac arrests were analyzed; 71.4% were attended in the
home and 28.6% in a public location (P<.001). Cardiac arrest in the home was associated with women (OR, 1.76; P=.002), older age (P<.001), response time, a lower frequency of attempt to resuscitate before the responders arrived (OR, 2.27; P<.001), higher frequency of nonshockable rhythm (OR, 2.29; P<.001), and failure of resuscitation maneuvers (OR, 2.33; P<.001). Conclusions: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur mainly in the home. Home cardiac arrests are associated with a larger number of factors related to failure to resuscitate. Many intrinsic and extrinsic differences distinguish cardiac arrests in the home from those that occur in public places. To maximize the possibility of successful resuscitation, different strategies should be used in responding to events in the 2 locations.