The dependence of successful resuscitation on electrocardiographically documented cardiac rhythm in case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the influence of electrocardiographically documented cardiac rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest on successful resuscitation among out-of-hospital deaths in Kaunas city.


METHODS
An observational prospective study was conducted between 1 January, 2005, and 30 December, 2005, in Kaunas city with a population of 360,627 inhabitants. In this period, all cases of cardiac arrest were analyzed according to the guidelines of the Utstein consensus conference. Cardiac arrest (both of cardiac and noncardiac etiology) was confirmed in 72 patients during one year. Effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed in 18 patients.


RESULTS
The total number of deaths from all causes in Kaunas during 1-year study period was 6691. Sixty-two patients due to sudden death of cardiac etiology were resuscitated by emergency medical services personnel. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 11 patients. Ventricular fibrillation was observed in 33 (53.2%) patients. Asystole was present in 11 (17.7%) and other rhythms in 18 (29.1%) cases. Patients with ventricular fibrillation as an initial rhythm were more likely to be successfully resuscitated than patients with asystole.


CONCLUSIONS
Ventricular fibrillation was the most common electrocardiographically documented cardiac rhythm registered during cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital settings. Ventricular fibrillation as a mechanism of cardiac arrest was associated with major cases of successful resuscitation.
Jasinskas
Nedas
N
Department of Disaster Medicine, Kaunas University of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania. jasinedas@gmail.com
Vaitkaitis
Dinas
D
Pilvinis
Vidas
V
Jancaityte
Lina
L
Bernotiene
Gailute
G
Dobozinskas
Paulius
P
D000368:Aged; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac; D004554:Electric Countershock; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*