• Brian M Clemency, Johanna C Innes, Michael Waldrop, Lynn J White, Eric Dievendorf, Robert Orlowski, Kejia Wang, Heather A Lindstrom, John M Canty, and David Hostler.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New York; Global Medical Response, Greenwood Village, Colorado; Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
• J Emerg Med. 2021 Mar 1; 60 (3): 349-354.

BackgroundEmergency medical services (EMS) agencies with higher field termination-of-resuscitation (TOR) rates tend to have higher survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Whether EMS agencies can improve survival rates through efforts to focus on resuscitation on scene and optimize TOR rates is unknown.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to determine if an EMS agency's efforts to enhance on-scene resuscitation were associated with increased TOR and OHCA survival with favorable neurologic outcome.MethodsA single-city, retrospective analysis of prospectively collected 2017 quality assurance data was conducted. Patient demographics, process, and outcome measures were compared before and after an educational intervention to increase field TOR. The primary outcome measure was survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic status.ResultsThere were 320 cases that met inclusion criteria. No differences in age, gender, location, witnessed arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, initial shockable rhythm, or presumed cardiac etiology were found. After the intervention, overall TOR rate increased from 39.6% to 51.1% (p = 0.06). Among subjects transported without return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), average time on scene increased from 26.4 to 34.2 min (p = 0.02). Rates of sustained ROSC and survival to hospital admission were similar between periods. After intervention, there was a trend toward increased survival to hospital discharge rate (relative risk [RR] 2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74-5.91) and an increase in survival with favorable neurologic status rate (RR 5.96; 95% CI 0.80-44.47).ConclusionThis study described the association between an educational intervention focusing on optimization of resuscitation on scene and OHCA process and outcome measures. Field termination has the potential to serve as a surrogate marker for aggressively treating OHCA patients on scene.Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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