Abstract
Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is used to evaluate the performance of the emergency medical service (EMS) system. Our study examined the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA cases presenting to a tertiary care center in Beirut, Lebanon.
Methods A retrospective chart review of all adult OHCA patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) over a 3-year period was carried out. Data collection and analysis was performed using the Utstein guidelines.
Results A total of 214 OHCA patients were presumed to have cardiac etiology; of them 205 (95.8%) underwent ED resuscitation. The mean age was 69+/-15.4 years. More than half of the patients (54.2%) were witnessed, but unfortunately the bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation rate was low (4.2%). Most of them were transported by EMS (71.5%). An automatic external defibrillator was rarely used (0.9%). Asystole was the predominant presenting rhythm in ED (81.8%). Eleven patients (5.5%) survived to hospital discharge and five (45.4%) had good neurological outcome.
Conclusion The OHCA survival rate in Beirut, Lebanon, is low. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation should be prioritized to achieve better outcomes. (C) 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.