title: A national resuscitation registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Germany-a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Survival rate after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has not significantly increased over the last decade. However, survival rate has been used as a quality benchmark for many emergency medical services. A uniform resuscitation registry may be advantageous for quality management of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study was conducted to evaluate the establishment of a national CPR registry in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective cohort study was performed that included 469 patients who experienced OHCA requiring CPR in the metropolitan area of Dortmund, Germany. Cardiac arrest was defined as concomitant appearance of unconsciousness, apnoea or gasping and pulselessness. All data were collected via a secure and confidential paper-based method as the data set 'Preclinical care'.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Quality of data was classified as 'good' in 33.4%, 'moderate' in 48.4%, and 'bad' in 18.2% of the patients, respectively. Sixty-two percent had OHCA in private residences, 24% of the patients had a first monitored rhythm of ventricular fibrillation (VF) or ventricular tachycardia (VT), 35.2% had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) on scene, and patients presenting VF/VT as the first monitored rhythm had higher ROSC rates (51.3%) compared to patients with asystole (22.6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data set 'Preclinical care' proved to be congruent with the Utstein style, provided further information for national and international comparisons, and enabled a detailed analysis. Optimisation of data collection and introduction of strict control mechanisms may further improve data quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Schwanenweg 21, 24105 Kiel, Germany. graesner@anaesthesie.uni-kiel.de
authors.forename: Jan-Thorsten
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Gräsner
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meybohm
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bein
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wnent
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Franz
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zander
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bahr
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jantzen
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Messelken
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dörges
authors.forename: Bernd W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Böttiger
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scholz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012042:Registries; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000453:epidemiology; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult