Global positioning system alerted volunteer first responders arrive before emergency medical services in more than four out of five emergency calls

To evaluate response rates for volunteer first responders (VFRs) activated by use of a smartphone GPS-tracking system and to compare response times of VFRs with those of emergency medical services (EMS). Furthermore, to evaluate 30-day-survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) on a rural...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Resuscitation 2020-07, Vol.152, p.170-176
Main Authors: Sarkisian, Laura, Mickley, Hans, Schakow, Henrik, Gerke, Oke, Jørgensen, Gitte, Larsen, Mogens Lytken, Henriksen, Finn Lund
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AED
App
Application
Automated external defibrillator
Bystander
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
First responder
GPS
OHCA
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Smartphone
Survival
Volunteer
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Summary:To evaluate response rates for volunteer first responders (VFRs) activated by use of a smartphone GPS-tracking system and to compare response times of VFRs with those of emergency medical services (EMS). Furthermore, to evaluate 30-day-survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) on a rural island. Since 2012 a GPS-tracking system has been used on a rural island to activate VFRs during all emergency calls requesting an EMS. When activated, three VFRs were recruited and given distinct roles, including collection of the nearest automatic external defibrillator (AED). We retrospectively investigated EMS response data from April 2012 to December 2017. These were matched with VFR response times from the GPS-tracking system. The 30-day survival in OHCA patients was also assessed. In 2266 of 2662 emergency calls (85%) at least one VFR arrived to the site before EMS. Median response times for VFRs (n = 2662) was 4:46 min:sec (IQR 3:16–6:52) compared with 10:13 min:sec (6:14–13:41) for EMS (p 
ISSN:0300-9572
1873-1570
DOI:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2019.12.010