• Abdennasser Bardai, Jocelyn Berdowski, Christian van der Werf, Marieke T Blom, Manon Ceelen, Irene M van Langen, Jan G P Tijssen, Arthur A M Wilde, Rudolph W Koster, and Hanno L Tan.
• Heart Failure Research Center, Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
• J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2011 May 3;57(18):1822-8.

ObjectivesThis study sought to determine comprehensively the incidence of pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and its contribution to total pediatric mortality, the causes of pediatric OHCA, and the outcome of resuscitation of pediatric OHCA patients.BackgroundThere is a paucity of complete studies on incidence, causes, and outcomes of pediatric OHCA.MethodsIn this prospective, population-based study, OHCA victims younger than age 21 years in 1 province of the Netherlands were registered through both emergency medical services and coroners over a period of 4.3 years. Death certificate data on total pediatric mortality, survival status, and neurological outcome at hospital discharge also were obtained.ResultsWith a total mortality of 923 during the study period and 233 victims of OHCA (including 221 who died and 12 who survived), OHCA caused 24% (221 of 923) of total pediatric mortality. Natural causes of OHCA amounted to 115 (49%) cases, with cardiac causes being most prevalent (n = 90, 39%). The incidence of pediatric OHCA was 9.0 per 100,000 pediatric person-years (95% confidence interval: 7.8 to 10.3), whereas the incidence of pediatric OHCA from cardiac causes was 3.2 (95% confidence interval: 2.5 to 3.9). Of 51 resuscitated patients, 12 (24%) survived; among survivors, 10 (83%) had a neurologically intact outcome.ConclusionsOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest accounts for a significant proportion of pediatric mortality, and cardiac causes are the most prevalent causes of OHCA. The vast majority of OHCA survivors have a neurologically intact outcome.Copyright © 2011 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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