Study Setting
This study considered data from patients with cardiac arrest treated by 119 paramedics from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 in DMC. For data collection, the purpose and suitability of the study was explained to the head of the DMC Fire Department, and the use of the data was approved.
The emergency activity log and the details of the cardiopulmonary arrest detailed situation table were anonymized. The total number of cardiac arrest procedures during the target period was 2750. Among them, 1307 cases were selected for the ROSC; cases for which CPR was withheld or suspended by medical guidance of paramedics due to apparent death or other causes, were not considered.
Data Collection
This study selected and investigated items that are estimated to have an effect on ROSC, as suggested by the emergency-activity log and the detailed cardiopulmonary arrest schedule prepared by 119 paramedics.
The dependent variables were the ROSC of cardiac arrest patients; independent variables were the Type of occurrence, Place of occurrence, Whether the cardiac arrest was witnessed, Whether CPR was performed, Whether a mechanical compression device was used, Whether a first-aid defibrillator was used, Whether epinephrine had been administered intravenously, and Whether intubation was performed.
Specifically, ROSC was defined as (yes = 1, no = 2). The codes for independent variables were: Type of occurrence (disease = 1, non-disease = 2), Place of occurrence (house = 1, ambulance = 2, nursing institution (medical facility) = 3, other = 4), Whether the cardiac arrest was witnessed (Witnessed = 1, not witnessed = 2, unknown = 3), Whether CPR was performed (performed = 1, not performed = 2, unknown = 3), Whether a mechanical compression device was used (Used = 1, not used = 2), Whether a first-aid defibrillator was used (Used = 1, Not used = 2), Whether epinephrine had been administered intravenously (Secured = 1, Not secured = 2), and Whether intubation was performed (Performed = 1, Not performed = 2).
Statistical Analysis
In this study, IBM SPSS/WIN 23.0 Program was used for data analysis. Frequency analysis was used to quantify the general characteristics of the subjects, and Chi-squared analysis was conducted to analyze whether the subjects showed ROSC before arriving at the emergency room. Binary Logistic Regression Analysis was conducted to identify factors that affected ROSC.
Ethical consideration
The data in this study were approved and obtained from the emergency activity log and cardiopulmonary arrest detailed situation chart prepared by 119 paramedics at the DMC Fire Department, and obtained approval from K University Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the exemption of deliberation (IRB- 1041459-202103-HR-003-01).