An essential review of Singapore's response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests: improvements over a ten-year period.

Care for patients who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has rapidly evolved in the past decade. Increased sophistication of care in the community, emergency medical services (EMS) and hospital setting is associated with improved patient-centred outcomes. Notably, Utstein survival doubled from 11.6% to 23.1% between 2011 and 2016. These achievements involved collaboration between policymakers, clinicians and researchers, and were made possible by a strategic interplay of policy, research and implementation. We review the development and current state of OHCA in Singapore using primary population-based data from the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study and an unstructured search of research databases. We discuss the roles of important milestones in policy, community, dispatch, EMS and hospital interventions. Finally, we relate these interventions to relevant processes and outcomes, such as the relationship between the strategic implementation of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and placement of automated external defibrillator with return of spontaneous circulation, survival to discharge and survival with favourable neurological outcomes.

The use of dispatcher assistance in improving the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A randomised controlled trial.

AIMS: The introduction of dispatcher assistance (DA) services has led to increased bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) participation rates. However, the extent to which DA improves CPR quality remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of DA in improving CPR quality among healthcare professionals and laypersons within a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian population. METHODS: A parallel, randomised controlled, open label trial was performed. Four hundred and twelve participants were recruited via convenience sampling in a public location. In a simulated cardiac-arrest scenario, the participants were randomised to perform CPR with DA over the phone (DA+) or CPR without DA (DA-). The ratio of participant assignment to DA+ and DA- was 1:1. The primary outcomes were CPR compression depth, compression rate, no-flow time, complete release of pressure between compressions, and hand location. The assessment involved CPR manikins and human assessors. RESULTS: A larger proportion of participants in DA + achieved the correct compression rate (34.3% vs 18.1%, p < 0.001). There was no difference in the other primary outcomes. A subgroup analysis revealed that healthcare professionals in DA+ had a higher proportion of correct hand location compared to those in DA- (82.1% vs. 53.5%, p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in CPR quality among laypersons with valid CPR certification regardless of whether they received DA. CONCLUSION: DA should be provided to laypersons without valid CPR certification, as well as healthcare professionals. The identification of gaps in the current DA protocol highlights areas where specific changes can be made to improve CPR quality.