Patient and EMS characteristics of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests from external causes according to the cause
| Asphyxia | Hanging | Fall | Drowning | Traffic injury | Drug overdose | Unclassified | p Value* | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n=2670) | (n=1999) | (n=1300) | (n=1062) | (n=765) | (n=187) | (n=256) | |||||||||
| Age, year, mean (SD) | 77.9 | (14.4) | 55.6 | (17.4) | 47.4 | (17.4) | 73.1 | (14.8) | 52.6 | (19.0) | 49.9 | (19.5) | 58.1 | (19.3) | <0.001 |
| Age group, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||||||||||||
| Adults aged 20–64 years | 403 | (15.1) | 1136 | (66.8) | 1055 | (81.2) | 210 | (19.8) | 523 | (68.4) | 141 | (75.4) | 158 | (61.7) | |
| Elderly aged ≥65 years | 2267 | (84.9) | 663 | (33.2) | 245 | (18.8) | 852 | (80.2) | 242 | (31.6) | 46 | (24.6) | 98 | (38.3) | |
| Men, n (%) | 1345 | (50.4) | 1290 | (64.5) | 781 | (60.1) | 530 | (49.9) | 558 | (72.9) | 117 | (62.6) | 168 | (65.6) | <0.001 |
| Arrests witnessed by bystanders, n (%) | 1801 | (67.5) | 27 | (1.4) | 510 | (39.2) | 56 | (5.3) | 476 | (62.2) | 10 | (5.3) | 72 | (28.1) | <0.001 |
| Normal activities of daily living, n (%) | 1099 | (41.2) | 1769 | (88.5) | 685 | (52.7) | 854 | (80.4) | 517 | (67.6) | 133 | (71.1) | 156 | (60.9) | <0.001 |
| First documented rhythm, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||||||||||||
| VF | 56 | (2.1) | 13 | (0.7) | 19 | (1.5) | 12 | (1.1) | 14 | (1.8) | 1 | (0.5) | 4 | (1.6) | |
| PEA | 960 | (36.0) | 198 | (9.9) | 274 | (21.1) | 72 | (6.8) | 259 | (33.9) | 20 | (10.7) | 70 | (27.3) | |
| Asystole | 1589 | (59.5) | 1775 | (88.8) | 985 | (75.8) | 970 | (91.3) | 469 | (61.3) | 160 | (85.6) | 176 | (68.8) | |
| Others | 65 | (2.4) | 13 | (0.7) | 22 | (1.7) | 8 | (0.8) | 23 | (3.0) | 6 | (3.2) | 6 | (2.3) | |
| Location of arrest, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||||||||||||
| Homes | 1596 | (59.8) | 1667 | (83.4) | 139 | (10.7) | 770 | (72.5) | 2 | (0.3) | 150 | (80.2) | 111 | (43.4) | |
| Public places | 139 | (5.2) | 86 | (4.3) | 553 | (42.5) | 83 | (7.8) | 677 | (88.5) | 14 | (7.5) | 56 | (21.9) | |
| Workplaces | 35 | (1.3) | 94 | (4.7) | 44 | (3.4) | 3 | (0.3) | 7 | (0.9) | 7 | (3.7) | 33 | (12.9) | |
| Healthcare facilities | 835 | (31.3) | 27 | (1.4) | 12 | (0.9) | 14 | (1.3) | 1 | (0.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 15 | (5.9) | |
| Others | 65 | (2.4) | 125 | (6.3) | 552 | (42.5) | 192 | (18.1) | 78 | (10.2) | 16 | (8.6) | 41 | (16.0) | |
| Public-access AED use, n (%) | 4 | (0.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0.214 |
| Type of bystander CPR, n (%) | <0.001 | ||||||||||||||
| No CPR | 1386 | (51.9) | 1174 | (58.7) | 1191 | (91.6) | 608 | (57.3) | 673 | (88.0) | 154 | (82.4) | 197 | (77.0) | |
| Chest compression-only CPR | 748 | (28.0) | 549 | (27.5) | 93 | (7.2) | 281 | (26.5) | 74 | (9.7) | 23 | (12.3) | 43 | (16.8) | |
| Conventional CPR with rescue breathing | 536 | (20.1) | 276 | (13.8) | 16 | (1.2) | 173 | (16.3) | 18 | (2.4) | 10 | (5.3) | 16 | (6.2) | |
| Intravascular fluid, n (%) | 540 | (20.2) | 393 | (19.7) | 107 | (8.2) | 281 | (26.5) | 76 | (9.9) | 27 | (14.4) | 34 | (13.3) | <0.001 |
| Intubation, n (%) | 800 | (30.0) | 167 | (8.4) | 41 | (3.2) | 251 | (23.6) | 31 | (4.1) | 33 | (17.6) | 41 | (16.0) | <0.001 |
| Epinephrine, n (%) | 326 | (12.2) | 83 | (4.2) | 41 | (3.2) | 68 | (6.4) | 37 | (4.8) | 6 | (3.2) | 11 | (4.3) | <0.001 |
| Call to contact with a patient by EMS (EMS response time), min, mean (SD) | 7.6 | (2.9) | 7.8 | (3.3) | 7.4 | (3.3) | 9.4 | (7.6) | 7.6 | (4.2) | 14.2 | (10.7) | 9.4 | (7.3) | <0.001 |
| Call to CPR by EMS personnel, min, mean (SD) | 7.9 | (3.1) | 8.6 | (3.9) | 8.2 | (3.8) | 10.0 | (7.5) | 9.3 | (5.9) | 14.4 | (10.0) | 11.0 | (8.7) | <0.001 |
| Call to hospital arrival, min, mean (SD) | 28.6 | (8.6) | 28.2 | (7.9) | 27.5 | (8.3) | 29.1 | (9.3) | 27.1 | (8.8) | 32.1 | (11.1) | 29.5 | (9.4) | <0.001 |
*p Values are calculated to test the homogeneity among the seven cause groups.
AED, automated external defibrillator; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; EMS, Emergency Medical Services; PEA, pulseless electrical activity; VF, ventricular fibrillation.