I-gel shows a higher success rate in cardiac arrest patients compared to the ET tube. Staff who chose to use methods other than i-gel indicated this was a confidence issue when using new equipment. The re-audit indicated an upward trend in the popularity of i-gel; insertion is faster with a higher success rate, which allows the crew to progress with the other resuscitation measures more promptly. Airway soiling and aspiration beforehand have been reasons staff resort to ET intubation. It is anticipated by the authors that i-gel will emerge as the first choice of airway management device in prehospital cardiac arrests.

Background Survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) vary, with figures from 2% to 12% reported nationally. Our ambulance service introduced a dedicated cardiac arrest response unit (CARU) as a trial in order to improve local patient outcomes by focussing training, extending the scope of practice and increasing exposure to cardiac arrests. CARU launched in January 2014 using a rapid response car staffed by senior paramedics responding to cardiac arrests within a 19 minute radius of their location. CARU Service (CARU removed) 2012 OHCA Registry Cardiac arrests where resuscitation was attempted 54 705 1,853 ROSC (Sustained to hospital) 35.2% 25.8% 23.0% Survival to discharge (Based on latest available data) 13.0% 3.3% 7.0% Methods This work describes the development and impact of CARU during the initial six months (10/01/14 to 09/07/2014) of operations using prospectively collected data on all cases attended. Results CARU activated to 165 calls and attended 65% (n=107). 50% (n=54) of the cases attended were cardiac arrests where resuscitation was attempted. Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) was achieved during pre-hospital resuscitation in 52% (n=28) of cases. Patient outcomes are reported compared with service data for January to June 2014 inclusive and one year of historical data from the regional OHCA registry: Conclusions Based on these figures CARU appears to have a positive impact on ROSC and a significant impact on survival to discharge rates compared with the rest of the service (p<0.01, Fisher's exact test). Further work is needed to explore how CARU delivers this impact and how the CARU model can be implemented beyond the trial setting in a sustainable fashion.