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Original Research

Open Access

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective observational study

  • Radojka Jokšić-Mazinjanin1,2
  • Nikolina Marić2
  • Aleksandar Đuričin1,2,*,
  • Goran Rakić1,3
  • Ilija Srdanović1,4
  • Milana Maljah5
  • Milena Jokšić Zelić6
  • Zdravka Burinović7
  • Branislav Martinović8
  • Velibor Vasović1,9

1Medical faculty, University in Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

2Institute for Emergency Medical Services Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

3Clinic for Children’s Surgery, Institute for Health Care of Children and Youth of Vojvodina, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

4Clinic for Cardiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

5Health Center Novi Bečej, 23272 Novi Bečej, Serbia

6Health Center Bečej, 21220 Bečej, Serbia

7Health Center Temerin, 21235 Temerin, Serbia

8Health Center “Ruma”, 22400 Ruma, Serbia

9Academy of Medical Sciences of Serbian Medical Society, 11000 Beograd, Serbia

DOI: 10.22514/sv.2024.146 Vol.20,Issue 11,November 2024 pp.68-74

Submitted: 29 January 2024 Accepted: 17 April 2024

Published: 08 November 2024

*Corresponding Author(s): Aleksandar Đuričin E-mail: aleksandar.djuricin@mf.uns.ac.rs

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly impacted the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), necessitating considerable reorganization within global healthcare systems. This study aims to assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment outcomes and the rate of sustained prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) until hospital admission in patients experiencing OHCA. We conducted a retrospective observational study to evaluate the survival outcomes of OHCA patients who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from emergency medical services (EMS) teams before and during the COVID-19 pandemic from 11 March 2018 to 10 March 2022. The patients were categorized into two cohorts: those who suffered OHCA prior to the pandemic (Pre-pandemic group) from 11 March 2018, to 10 March 2020, and those during the pandemic (Pandemic group), from 11 March 2020, to 10 March 2022. The study included 958 patients divided into the Pre-pandemic group (n = 434 patients) and Pandemic group (n = 524 patients) (p < 0.05). Analysis showed no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, gender, EMS response time, initial cardiac rhythm and adrenaline administration. Endotracheal intubation was more frequently performed in the Pre-pandemic group (χ2 = 8.737; df = 3; p = 0.033), as were the administrations of amiodarone (χ2 = 6.508; df = 1; p = 0.011) and saline solution (χ2 = 5.510; df = 1; p = 0.019). Rates of prehospital ROSC until hospital admission were significantly higher in the Pre-pandemic group (18.4%) compared to the Pandemic group (12.6%) (χ2 = 5.685; df = 1; p = 0.017). During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in OHCA incidents in our study region compared to before the pandemic period. Concurrently, we observed a significant reduction in the proportion of patients achieving and maintaining ROSC prehospital until hospital admission during the pandemic.


Keywords

Coronavirus Disease 2019; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Sudden cardiac arrest; Survival


Cite and Share

Radojka Jokšić-Mazinjanin,Nikolina Marić,Aleksandar Đuričin,Goran Rakić,Ilija Srdanović,Milana Maljah,Milena Jokšić Zelić,Zdravka Burinović,Branislav Martinović,Velibor Vasović. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective observational study. Signa Vitae. 2024. 20(11);68-74.

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