A national resuscitation registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Germany-a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Survival rate after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has not significantly increased over the last decade. However, survival rate has been used as a quality benchmark for many emergency medical services. A uniform resuscitation registry may be advantageous for quality management of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study was conducted to evaluate the establishment of a national CPR registry in Germany. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed that included 469 patients who experienced OHCA requiring CPR in the metropolitan area of Dortmund, Germany. Cardiac arrest was defined as concomitant appearance of unconsciousness, apnoea or gasping and pulselessness. All data were collected via a secure and confidential paper-based method as the data set 'Preclinical care'. RESULTS: Quality of data was classified as 'good' in 33.4%, 'moderate' in 48.4%, and 'bad' in 18.2% of the patients, respectively. Sixty-two percent had OHCA in private residences, 24% of the patients had a first monitored rhythm of ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT), 35.2% had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) on scene, and patients presenting VF/VT as the first monitored rhythm had higher ROSC rates (51.3%) compared to patients with asystole (22.6%). CONCLUSION: The data set 'Preclinical care' proved to be congruent with the Utstein style, provided further information for national and international comparisons, and enabled a detailed analysis. Optimisation of data collection and introduction of strict control mechanisms may further improve data quality.

[The DGAI CPR registry - the datasets "hospital care" and "long-term process"]. / Das DGAI-Reanimationsregister - Die Datensätze "Weiterversorgung" und "Langzeitverlauf"

After several years of preparation the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin--DGAI) has, during its annual conference 2007, officially launched the DGAI CPR registry. After implementation of the dataset "primary care" in 2004, the datasets "definite care" and "long-term process" have now been released. The completed, internet based database is open for any interested person or institution as a tool for quality management. Data may be recorded online, and basic analyses be performed immediately. Beyond that benchmarks with other institutions are possible, by including the well accepted Utstein style on international level too.