Improving the rate of return of spontaneous circulation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests with a formal, structured emergency resuscitation team.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a formal, structured resuscitation team in the emergency department (ED) on the success rate of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients.

METHODS: This is a "three-phase" (organized, transitional, and re-organized), prospective study in which medical records of all OHCA patients who needed resuscitation in the ED during the three 6-month periods were reviewed and data were coded in out-of-hospital Utstein style formats. An organized resuscitation team existed in the organized and re-organized phases but not in the transitional phase. The study population consisted of adult patients with non-traumatic cardiac arrest (>18 years of age).

RESULTS: The rates of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were 51.3% for the organized phase, 31.0% for the transitional phase, and 53.1% for the re-organized phase ( P=0.013 ). The rates of ROSC from pulseless electrical activity (PEA)/asystole were significantly higher in periods with organized and re-organized teams ( P=0.007 ). The rates of ROSC for the ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) sub-groups were not significantly different in all three periods ( P=0.406 ). The chance of survival-to-discharge was 9.2% in the organized period, 11.2% in the transitional period, and 15.6% in the re-organized period ( P=0.496 ). The existence of a formal, structured emergency resuscitation team in the ED (odds ratio: 2.56, 95% confidence interval: 1.35-4.80) and witness at the scene (odds ratio: 2.45, 95% confidence interval: 1.34-4.45) were the only independent predictors of successful ROSC of OHCA patients by multiple logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSION: The establishment of a formal and structured emergency resuscitation team in the ED is associated with an increased rate of ROSC for OHCA patients.