Open AccessEpidemiology of Paediatric Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest Presented to a Local Emergency Department: A Retrospective Case Series
Author(s) -
Ho YK,
Mok YT
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
hong kong journal of emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.145
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2309-5407
pISSN - 1024-9079
DOI - 10.1177/102490791602300604
Subject(s) - medicine , return of spontaneous circulation , emergency department , cardiopulmonary resuscitation , epidemiology , retrospective cohort study , emergency medicine , resuscitation , sudden cardiac arrest , pediatrics , pulseless electrical activity , psychiatry
Objective To outline the epidemiology of paediatric out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases presented to a regional hospital. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Attendance records of critical cases aged from 0 to 17 years old from year 2001 to 2014 attending Emergency Department (ED) of Yan Chai Hospital were searched. Demographic data and predictive parameters were analysed for association with outcome. Results There were 40 cases of paediatric OHCA throughout the study period. A total of 21 (52.5%) had witnessed arrest; 27 (67.5%) had cardiac arrest at home. Twenty‐eight (70%) of the cardiac arrest were first noted by family members; 8 (20%) received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Only 13 (32.5%) cases had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in the ED and were admitted. Seven patients (17.5%) survived to hospital discharge. Conclusion Paediatric OHCA, although a rare occurrence, has a high mortality of 82.5% in our series. Majority of the cases occur at home, and are witnessed. Family members are often the first persons to detect the arrest. Yet the rate of providing bystander CPR is low in Hong Kong.