Characteristics and outcomes of cardiac arrests reported in the national collegiate emergency medical services foundation data registry

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to identify out-of-hospital cardiac arrest characteristics for patients treated by collegiate-based emergency medical services (CBEMS) organizations.

Participants

CBEMS organizations provided data via the National Collegiate EMS Foundation Cardiac Arrest Data Registry.

Methods

CBEMS organization details, patient demographics, cardiac arrest characteristics and treatments, and prehospital outcomes for cases spanning October 2007 to May 2020 were analyzed with descriptive statistics.

Results

There were 65 OHCA entries. The majority were for male patients (82%) and a notable number of cases occurred in patients 45 years of age or younger (41%). Cases were frequently witnessed (71%) with high rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (57%) and defibrillation (29%) prior to EMS arrival. Almost half of the patients (48%) had achieved return of spontaneous circulation until care was transferred to a provider of equal/higher level.

Conclusions

CBEMS organizations may be well situated to respond rapidly to on-campus OHCAs.

Keywords:

• Cardiac arrest
• cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• collegiate emergency medical services

Acknowledgments

We thank the first responders of the NCEMSF member organizations for their data input and for their commitment and dedication to saving lives on colleges and university campuses.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.