Public access defibrillation and outcomes after pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Resuscitation. 2017 Feb:111:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.11.010. Epub 2016 Nov 27.

Abstract

Background: Use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been recommended for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, there are no conclusive studies that elucidated the effectiveness of public-access defibrillation (PAD) in children.

Methods: This was a nationwide, population-based, propensity score-matched study of pediatric OHCA in Japan from 2011 to 2012, based on data from the All-Japan Utstein Registry. We included pediatric OHCA patients (aged 1-17 years) who received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The primary outcome was a favorable neurological state 1 month after OHCA (defined as a CPC score of 1-2).

Results: A total of 1193 patients were included in the final cohort; 57 received PAD and 1136 did not. Among 1193 patients, 188 (15.8%) survived with a favorable neurological status 1 month after OHCA. The odds of neurologically favorable survival were significantly higher for patients receiving PAD after adjusting for potential confounders: propensity score matching, OR 3.17 (95% CI 1.40-7.17), and multivariable logistic regression modeling, ORadjusted 5.10 (95% CI 2.01-13.70). Similar findings were observed for the secondary outcomes (i.e., neurologically favorable survival with a CPC score of 1, one-month survival, and prehospital return of spontaneous circulation). In subgroup analyses, there were no significant differences in neurologically favorable survival between the PAD group and non-PAD group in the unwitnessed cohort (ORadjusted 7.76 [0.75-81.90]) or the non-cardiac etiology cohort (ORadjusted 6.65 [0.64-66.24]).

Conclusions: PAD was associated with an increased chance of neurologically favorable survival in pediatric OHCA (aged 1-17 years) who received bystander CPR, except for in cases of unwitnessed or non-cardiac etiology.

Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Children; Epidemiology; Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; Pediatrics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Defibrillators*
  • Electric Countershock / instrumentation
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest / therapy*
  • Propensity Score
  • Treatment Outcome