Open AccessOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: a scoping review
Author(s) -
Alan M Batt,
Chelsea Lanos,
Shan Delport,
Dalal Alhasan,
Shane Knox,
Assim Alhmoudi,
Megan L. Anderson,
Saleh Fares,
Fergal Cummins
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/emhj.20.141
Subject(s) - cinahl , medicine , cardiopulmonary resuscitation , medline , grey literature , medical emergency , return of spontaneous circulation , data extraction , family medicine , emergency medicine , psychological intervention , resuscitation , nursing , political science , law
Background: Published data are lacking on response to and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Middle East. What data there are have not been comprehensively analysed. Aims: This study aimed to assess the characteristics of people with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) and the response to and outcomes of such incidents. Methods: This was a scoping review of published and grey literature on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in GCC countries from 1990 to June 2019. Studies in English and Arabic were eligible for inclusion. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science and EMBASE were searched as well as relevant non-indexed journals. Google searches were also done. References of included studies were scanned for relevant articles. Experts on the subject in the region were consulted. Results: Of 647 citations retrieved, 24 studies were included for data extraction and analysis. No literature was identified for Bahrain. People with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the region were younger, predominantly male and had more comorbidity than reported in other regions of the world. Use of emergency medical services was low across the GCC countries, as was bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, return of spontaneous circulation and survival to discharge. Conclusions: A coordinated effort to address out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, including the generation of research, is lacking within and among GCC countries. Establishment of lead agencies responsible for developing and coordinating strategies to address out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, such as community response, public education and reporting databases, is recommended.