COVID-19 Impact on Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Epidemic Overactivity Phase: Data from the RéAC Registry

Abstract

Introduction: Our aim was to analyze the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) care and patients’ survival during COVID-19 pandemic by comparing the emergency phone number called to initiate the alert [EMS(#15) or firefighters(#18)]. Procedures: We used data from the French OHCA Registry (RéAC), between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020. We performed three comparisons of patient cohorts: 1) COVID vs non-COVID; 2) 15 vs 18 calls and 3) in COVID patients, 15 vs 18 calls. Results: We included 870 OHCA, among them, 184 were affected by COVID-19. There were 487 (56%) calls to 15 and 383 (44%) to 18. Patient survival at D+30 during the study was 3%. COVID+ patients had a lower survival rate at D+30 than non-COVID patients (0% vs. 4%, P < 0.001). Firefighters had a long time to arrive on the scene for calls to 15. No difference in survival was observed between 15 or 18 calls. Conclusion: The poor survival of patients during the pandemic is multi-causal but does not appear to be related to the emergency phone number called to initiate the alert [EMS (#15) or firefighters (#18)] even if the arrival time for prompt assistance is shorter on the call to 18.