A five-year retrospective study of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a north-east Italian urban area

Background: The reporting and analysing of data of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests encourages the quality improvement of the emergency medical services. For this reason, the establishment of a sufficiently large patient database is intended to allow analysis of resuscitation treatments for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and performances of different emergency medical services. Aims: The aim of this study was to describe the demographics, characteristics, outcomes and determinant factors of survival for patients who suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods: this was a retrospective study including all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases treated by the emergency medical service in the district of Udine (Italy) from 1 January 2010–31 December 2014. Results: A total of 1105 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients were attended by the emergency medical service. Of these, 489 (44.2%) underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 142 patients (29%). There was a male predominance overall, and the main age was 72.6 years (standard deviation 17.9). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation before emergency medical service arrival was performed on 62 cases (44%) in the return of spontaneous circulation group, and on 115 cases (33%) in the no return of spontaneous circulation group ( p<0.024). Among the 142 cases of return of spontaneous circulation, 29 (5.9%) survived to hospital discharge. There was a smaller likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation when patients were female (odds ratio 0.61, 0.40–0.93). Patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest with an initial shockable rhythm (odds ratio 6.33, 3.86–10.39) or an age <60 years (odds ratio 2.91, 1.86–4.57) had a greater likelihood of return of spontaneous circulation. In addition, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (odds ratio 1.56, 1.04–2.33) was associated with an increased chance of return of spontaneous circulation. Conclusion: The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and survival rate lies within the known range. A wider database is necessary to achieve a better knowledge of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and to drive future investments in the healthcare system.