A national resuscitation registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Germany—A pilot study

• Published in: Resuscitation 2009-02, Vol.80 (2), p.199-203
• Main Authors: Gräsner, Jan-Thorsten, Meybohm, Patrick, Fischer, Matthias, Bein, Berthold, Wnent, Jan, Franz, Rüdiger, Zander, Josef, Lemke, Hans, Bahr, Jan, Jantzen, Tanja, Messelken, Martin, Dörges, Volker, Böttiger, Bernd W, Scholz, Jens
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiac arrest; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Child; Child, Preschool; Circulation; Coronary Circulation; Emergency; Emergency and intensive cardiocirculatory care. Cardiogenic shock. Coronary intensive care; Emergency Medical Services; Female; Germany - epidemiology; Heart Arrest - epidemiology; Heart Arrest - therapy; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Intensive care medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Prospective Studies; Recovery of Function; Registries; Resuscitation; Tachycardia, Ventricular - epidemiology; Ventricular Fibrillation - epidemiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0300-9572; 1873-1570
• DOI: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2008.10.008

Abstract Background Survival rate after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has not significantly increased over the last decade. However, survival rate has been used as a quality benchmark for many emergency medical services. A uniform resuscitation registry may be advantageous for quality management of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study was conducted to evaluate the establishment of a national CPR registry in Germany. Materials and methods A prospective cohort study was performed that included 469 patients who experienced OHCA requiring CPR in the metropolitan area of Dortmund, Germany. Cardiac arrest was defined as concomitant appearance of unconsciousness, apnoea or gasping and pulselessness. All data were collected via a secure and confidential paper-based method as the data set ‘Preclinical care’. Results Quality of data was classified as ‘good’ in 33.4%, ‘moderate’ in 48.4%, and ‘bad’ in 18.2% of the patients, respectively. Sixty-two percent had OHCA in private residences, 24% of the patients had a first monitored rhythm of ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT), 35.2% had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) on scene, and patients presenting VF/VT as the first monitored rhythm had higher ROSC rates (51.3%) compared to patients with asystole (22.6%). Conclusion The data set ‘Preclinical care’ proved to be congruent with the Utstein style, provided further information for national and international comparisons, and enabled a detailed analysis. Optimisation of data collection and introduction of strict control mechanisms may further improve data quality.