Pediatric Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the State of Arizona

Abstract

Comprehensive databases which collect data on out of hospital cardiac arrests have been useful in identifying markers of outcome in adults, but this data is limited in children. The Arizona Department of Health Services’ Save Hearts in Arizona Registry and Education (SHARE) database contains data on pediatric cardiac arrests in the field and offers a unique opportunity to examine outcome measures and pre-hospital care. We retrospectively analyzed 312 children (1-215 months) from the SHARE database between 2004-2010. Variables assessed included: bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) administration, transport times and impact of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) availability on outcome to hospital discharge. Data were analyzed by t-test and Fisher’s exact test. Of 312 children with out of hospital cardiac arrest, 11 (3.6%) survived to hospital discharge. The low survival rates in this review make statistical comparisons difficult, though potential trends were noted that, with additional numbers to increase power, may provide insight into factors affecting survival from pediatric OHCA that have not been assessed on a wide scale in this vulnerable population.