Effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and bystander resuscitation efforts: a nationwide cohort study in Japan.

Background and importance There is limited knowledge about the nationwide impact of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Japan on out-of -hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) outcomes.Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on OHCA outcomes and bystander resuscitation efforts in Japan. Design Retrospective analysis of a nationwide population-based registry of OHCA cases. Settings and participants To conduct this study, we created a comprehensive database comprising 821 665 OHCA cases by combining and reconciling the OHCA database for 835 197 OHCA cases between 2017 and 2020 with another database, including location and time records. After applying exclusion and inclusion criteria, we analysed 751 617 cases.Outcome measures and analysis The primary outcome measure for this study was survival with neurologically favourable outcome (cerebral performance category 1 or 2). We compare OHCA characteristics and outcomes between prepandemic and pandemic years, and also investigated differences in factors associated with outcomes. Results We found that survival with neurologically favourable outcome and the rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) slightly increased in the pandemic year [2.8% vs. 2.9%; crude odds ratio (OR), 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.10; 54.1% vs. 55.3%, 1.05 (1.04-1.06), respectively], although the incidence of public access defibrillation (PAD) slightly decreased [1.8% vs. 1.6%, 0.89 (0.86-0.93)]. Calls for hospital selection by emergency medical service (EMS) increased during the pandemic. Subgroup analysis showed that the incidence of neurologically favourable outcome increased in 2020 for OHCA cases that occurred on nonstate of emergency days, in unaffected prefectures, with noncardiac cause, nonshockable initial rhythm, and during daytime hours. Conclusions During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, survival with neurologically favourable outcome of OHCA patients and bystander CPR rate did not negatively change, despite the decrement in PAD incidence. However, these effects varied with the state of emergency, region, and characteristics of OHCA, suggesting an imbalance between medical demand and supply, and raising concerns about the pandemic.

Time point for transport initiation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a nationwide cohort study in Japan.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the time point of the decision to initiate transport with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in Japan. Methods: We analyzed adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases that achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) before hospital arrival from the All-Japan Utstein Registry during 2015-2017. We constructed receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves to illustrate the ability of achieving ROSC as a predictor of neurologically favorable outcomes as a function of increasing time points of resuscitation before ROSC. Furthermore, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with outcomes. Results: Of 373,993 OHCA patients with attempted resuscitation during 2015-2017, 22,067 patients with prehospital ROSC were included in our study. Patients were divided into the shockable initial rhythm (n = 5,580) and nonshockable initial rhythm (n = 16,487) cohorts. The ROC curves showed 10 min was the best test performance time point for a neurologically favorable outcome for shockable initial rhythm patients (sensitivity, 0.78; specificity, 0.53; area under the ROC curve [AUC], 0.70) and 8 min for nonshockable initial rhythm patients (sensitivity, 0.74; specificity, 0.77; AUC, 0.83). Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that CPR durations using the cut-off value were independently associated with better outcomes for both shockable initial rhythm patients (odds ratio, 2.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.81-2.42) and nonshockable initial rhythm patients (odds ratio, 3.34; 95% confidence interval, 2.92-3.82). Conclusion: When Japanese emergency medical service (EMS) providers attend OHCA cases, the decision to initiate transport with ongoing CPR should be made at approximately 10 min after EMS providers initiate CPR for shockable initial rhythm patients and at approximately 8 min for nonshockable initial rhythm patients.

Patient outcomes of school-age, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Japan: A nationwide study of schoolchildren as witnesses.

AIM: Using the data from the All-Japan Utstein Registry, this study evaluates the neurologically favourable patient outcomes and associated factors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with Japanese schoolchildren as witnesses. METHODS: We analysed 1,068 school-age children (6-18 years old) who underwent OHCA from 2011 to 2016. Among the 1,068 cases, 179 were witnessed by schoolchildren and 889 were witnessed by other bystanders. Propensity score-matched and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the outcomes and associated factors. RESULTS: The crude neurologically favourable outcome in the schoolchildren-witnessed group was considerably higher than that in the other-bystander-witnessed group (19.6% versus 12.3%; P < 0.010). However, the difference was not significant in the propensity score-matched analysis (19.6% versus 21.8%; P = 0.602). The multivariable logistic regression analyses of school-age OHCA with schoolchildren as witnesses demonstrated that bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provision (odds ratio [OR] 4.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44-11.75), shockable initial rhythm (OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.43-8.04), and defibrillation (OR 4.58, 95% CI 1.65-12.71) provided by any bystander were positively associated with favourable outcomes. By contrast, dispatcher-assisted CPR provision (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.70), exogenous cause (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.03-0.86), adrenaline administration (0.25; 95% CI 0.07-0.92), and prolonged response time (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.75-0.98) were negatively associated with favourable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Patient outcomes did not differ significantly between schoolchildren- and other-bystander-witnessed cases of school-age OHCA. Although schoolchildren as witnesses might not be inferior to other bystanders in school-age OHCA, further studies are needed to examine the effect of bystander CPR by schoolchildren and basic life support education in schools.

Prehospital Epinephrine as a Potential Factor Associated with Prehospital Rearrest.

Objective: To investigate the impact of epinephrine on prehospital rearrest and re-attainment of prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Methods: Data for 9,292 (≥ 8 years) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients transported to hospitals by emergency medical services were collected in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan during 2010-2018. Univariate and multivariable analyses were retrospectively performed for 1,163 patients with prehospital ROSC. Results: Of 1,163 patients, rearrest occurred in 272 (23.4%) but not in 891 (76.6%). Both single and multiple doses of epinephrine administered before prehospital ROSC (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.62, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.42-5.46 for 1 mg, and 4.27, 2.58-6.79 for ≥ 2 mg) were main factors associated with rearrest. The association between initial and rearrest rhythms was significantly associated with epinephrine administration (p = 0.02). However, the rearrest rhythm was primarily associated with the initial rhythm (p < 0.01). The majority of patients with the non-shockable initial rhythm had pulseless electrical activity (PEA) as the rearrest rhythm, regardless of epinephrine administration (80.4% for administration, 81.6% for no administration). When the initial rhythm was shockable, the primary rearrest rhythms in patients with and without epinephrine administration before prehospital ROSC were PEA (52.2%) and ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia (56.8%), respectively. Only epinephrine administration after rearrest was associated with prehospital re-attainment of ROSC (adjusted OR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.20-5.19). Stepwise multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that neurologically favorable outcome was poorer in patients with rearrest than those without rearrest (9.9% vs. 25.0%, adjusted OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.23-0.73). The total prehospital doses of epinephrine were associated with poorer neurological outcome in a dose-dependent manner (adjusted OR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.13-0.36 for 1 mg; 0.09, 0.04-0.19 for 2 mg; 0.03, 0.01-0.09 for ≥ 3 mg, no epinephrine as a reference). Transportation to hospitals with a unit for post-resuscitation care was associated with better neurological outcome (adjusted OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.02-2.32). Conclusions: The requirement for epinephrine administration before prehospital ROSC was associated with subsequent rearrest. Routine epinephrine administrations and rearrest were associated with poorer neurological outcome of OHCA patients with prehospital ROSC.

Association of school hours with outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of school hours with outcomes of schoolchildren with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). METHODS: From the 2005-2014 nationwide databases, we extracted the data for 1660 schoolchildren (6-17 years) with bystander-witnessed OHCA. Univariate analyses followed by propensity-matching procedures and stepwise logistic regression analyses were applied. School hours were defined as 08:00 to 18:00. RESULTS: The neurologically favourable 1-month survival rate during school hours was better than that during non-school hours only on school days: 18.4% and 10.5%, respectively. During school hours on school days, patients with OHCA more frequently received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and public access defibrillation (PAD), and had a shockable initial rhythm and presumed cardiac aetiology. The neurologically favourable 1-month survival rate did not significantly differ between school hours on school days and all other times of day after propensity score matching: 16.4% vs 16.1% (unadjusted OR 1.02; 95% CI 0.69 to 1.51). Stepwise logistic regression analysis during school hours on school days revealed that shockable initial rhythm (adjusted OR 2.44; 95% CI 1.12 to 5.42), PAD (adjusted OR 3.32; 95% CI 1.23 to 9.10), non-exogenous causes (adjusted OR 5.88; 95% CI 1.85 to 20.0) and a shorter emergency medical service (EMS) response time (adjusted OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.32) and witness-to-first CPR interval (adjusted OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.15) were major factors associated with an improved neurologically favourable 1-month survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: School hours are not an independent factor associated with improved outcomes of OHCA in schoolchildren. The time delays in CPR and EMS arrival were independently associated with poor outcomes during school hours on school days.

Assessing the efficacy of the new protocol for chest compressions before definitive cardiac arrest in emergency medical service-witnessed adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

AIMS: Japanese emergency medical services (EMS) personnel providing advance life support confirm the absence of a carotid pulse before initiating chest compressions (CCs) in adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study aims to investigate the efficacy of a new protocol facilitating early CCs before definitive cardiac arrest in enhancing the outcomes of OHCA. METHODS: The 2011 new protocol facilitated EMS to initiate CCs when the carotid pulse was weak and/or <50/min in comatose adult patients with respiratory arrest (apnoea or agonal breathing) and loss of the radial pulse. During 2008-2015, we compared the neurologically favourable 1-year survival rate of EMS-witnessed OHCA and EMS-confirmed out-of-hospital respiratory arrest (OHRA) in adults before (N = 257 and 34, respectively) and after (N = 255 and 54, respectively) the implementation of the new protocol. RESULTS: After the new protocol, EMS initiated CCs >1.5 min before definitive cardiac arrest in 31% (80/255) and 33% (18/54) of EMS-witnessed OHCA and EMS-confirmed OHRA, respectively. While the new protocol was not significantly associated with survival of EMS-confirmed OHRA, it was significantly associated with survival of EMS-witnessed OHCA: 9.0% and 14.9%, before and after, P by univariate analysis <0.03; adjusted OR (95% CI) by multivariable logistic regression analysis, 2.01 (1.04-3.90). Neither early start of CCs nor the new protocol was associated with the progression to cardiac arrest in 212 cases with impending cardiac arrest. CONCLUSIONS: A new EMS protocol facilitating early CCs before definitive cardiac arrest was associated with higher survival of EMS-witnessed OHCA.