Survey of resuscitation practices at emergency medical service agencies in the U.S.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) varies across emergency medical service (EMS) agencies. Yet, little is known about resuscitation response and quality improvement activities at EMS agencies. We describe herein a novel survey to EMS agencies in a U.S. registry for OHCA.

Methods

Using data from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), we identified 577 EMS agencies with ≥10 OHCA cases annually between 2015 and 2019 that remained active in CARES. We administered a survey to EMS directors regarding agency characteristics, cardiac arrest response, relationships with first responders and dispatchers, quality improvement activities and perceived barriers in the community.

Results

Of eligible EMS agencies, 470 (81.5%) completed the

SUBMITTER: Chan PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10580039 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature