Utstein-style reporting of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Bielsko-Biała county

Abstract

Introduction. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is one of the most severe medical emergencies, with significantly high both pre-and in-hospital mortality rates. The aim of the study was to assess the quality of reporting OHCA data by the Emergency Medical Service teams (EMS) in the Bielsko-Biała county, using standard ambulance dispatch cards.

Epidemiology and chronobiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a subpopulation of southern Poland: A two-year observation

“…In the present study it a higher incidence of 1.56/1000 inhabitants per year was noticed, but even higher value was presented in another Polish study (1.7/1000 per year, 2.43 in men and 0.99 in women) [2]. The same tendency regarding gender was observed where the incidence rate is almost two times higher among men in comparison to women.…”

“…Gach et al [2] analyzed a smaller population from one-year period (2013) and reported similar diurnal variation in OHCA incidence, however significant discrepancy exists when comparing days of the week and months with the lowest and the highest OHCA frequencies (May and December, respectively and no statistical significance of weekly variation, the highest rate being on Tuesday). Presented dissimilarity strengthens the need for more and large-scaled research, although the influence of multiple population and territory specific factors affecting every result cannot be neglected.…”

“…The occurrence of cardiac arrest in Europe is estimated as 0.5-1 per 1000 inhabitants per year [1] while in Poland it is approximately 1.7 per 1000 inhabitants [2]. The majority of patients with OHCA represents a cardiac etiology [3].…”