Regional variation in the incidence, general characteristics, and outcomes of prehospital cardiac arrest in Spain: the Out-of-Hospital Spanish Cardiac Arrest Registry

Background and objective. The incidence and outcomes of care for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary greatly from country to country. We aimed to study variation in the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of care for OHCAs given by Spanish prehospital emergency services. Methods. Descriptive retrospective analysis of data from the Out-of-Hospital Spanish Cardiac Arrest Registry (OHSCAR) from October 2013 to October 2014. Attempts by 19 Spanish emergency services to resuscitate patients were studied. All OHCA cases were reviewed to obtain the following data: incidence, patient and event characteristics, prior emergencies, resuscitation attempts, and the main treatments provided in the hospital. If a patient was admitted, we compared the neurologic status on hospital discharge. Results. Statistically significant differences were detected between emergency services (P <.0001) in the incidence of attempted resuscitation and all general characteristics except sex. Hospital treatments and outcomes also differed significantly: pulse had been restored on arrival of 30.5% of patients (range 21.3% to 56.1%, P<.001), and 31.8% of admitted patients were discharged in cerebral performance categories 1 or 2 (range 17.2% to 58.3%, P<.001). Conclusion. Differences in the incidence of resuscitation attempts, key variables, and survival at discharge from the hospital are present in OHCA cases attended by prehospital emergency services in different regions of Spain.