ABSTRACT
Background: Italy, France and New York City have reported an increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of our study was to assess the effect of COVID-19 on OHCA cases in Chicago. Method(s): Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) database was used. Bivariate analysis was conducted to assess changes in demographic and other characteristics. We excluded the cases that occurred in a healthcare facility or a nursing home. We compared the cases reported in 2020 to 2019 (and prior years). ArcGIS was used to geocode incident addresses and to show the temporal distribution by community areas. Bivariate analysis was done using chi-square tests. Result(s): A total of 3221 OHCA cases were reported in Chicago in 2020, which is 31.5% higher than those reported in 2019 (n=2450 cases). This increase was higher than what has been noticed historically (for instance, the increase from 2018 to 2019 was only 17%). There was an increase in Hispanic OHCA cases (17.3% in 2020 vs. 13.5% in 2019, p<0.01) but a decrease in White cases (20.5% vs. 23.1%). The cases in 2020 were less likely to be reported at public location (22% vs. 26%, p<0.001) or have shockable rhythm (10% vs. 13%, p=0.0002). There was a marked increase in those that were declared dead in the field in 2020 (37% vs. 27%, p<0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences in age distribution, gender, witnessed arrest (49% vs. 51%, p=0.07) or bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) (23% vs. 22%, p=0.3). Conclusion(s): A better understanding of the causes of the excess cardiac arrest numbers will be important to help plan and better prepare for future public health interventions. The effect of COVID19 on OHCA survival needs to be examined further in future studies.