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Black cardiac arrest victims who are stricken outside hospitals areless likely to receive bystander CPR and defibrillation on thescene than white patients, according to research presented by aresearch team from the Perelman School of Medicine at theUniversity of Pennsylvania at the annual meeting of Society forAcademic Emergency Medicine. The researchers also found that blackpatients' hearts were much less likely to have been restarted bythe time they arrived at the hospital - a key indicator for whethercardiac arrest victims ultimately survive. "Cardiac arrest is a time-sensitive illness that requires immediateaction to keep blood flowing to the brain - every minute withoutCPR and the application of shocks from an automated externaldefibrillator robs patients of a chance to fully recover," saidsenior author Roger Band, MD, an assistant professor of EmergencyMedicine. "Our findings show troubling racial disparities in theuse of these lifesaving measures, and they point to the need to domore to ensure that every patient has the best chance ofsurviving." The researchers studied 4,909 adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest(OHCA) cases that occurred between January 2008 and February 2012in the city of Philadelphia using data from the Philadelphia FireDepartment. Analysis revealed that despite resuscitation measuresby paramedics and, in some cases, lay bystanders, black patientswere less likely to have regained their pulse before arrival at thehospital than white patients (14.7 percent experienced a return ofspontaneous circulation, compared to 17.1 percent of whitepatients). They were also less likely to have received importantpre-hospital care measures that are a proven part of the cardiacarrest "chain of survival." Thirty four percent of white patientsreceived a shock from an automated external defibrillator (AED)placed by a bystander or medical first-responder on the scene oftheir arrest, compared with 27 percent of black patients.Bystanders performed CPR on 5.6 percent of black patients, comparedwith 7.5 percent of white patients. The investigators plan to look more closely at the possible role ofneighborhood factors and socioeconomic status on their findings,perhaps to develop more targeted CPR training programs and placeAEDs more strategically in the community. In a separate study using the same database, Band's team also foundthat patients who suffered cardiac arrests at night versus duringthe day were less likely to have regained their pulse beforearrival at the hospital (14.1 percent experienced a return ofspontaneous circulation at night, compared to 16.5 percent duringthe day). Those who arrested at night (between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.) were alsosignificantly less likely to receive bystander CPR, and took longerto be transported to the hospital than those who were strickenduring the day. Though these differences may be explained partly bylocation of victims at the time of their arrest (in the home versusin public places), Band says the differences underscore the need toimprove public awareness of the importance of CPR and AED use. "It is imperative for the public to know that these twointerventions that have the greatest impact on survival, and theycan be performed by anyone. If CPR and AEDs were employed for everycardiac arrest, hundreds of thousands of lives would be savedannually, in the U.S. alone," Band says. "Our studies reiterate thefact that use of these basic lifesaving tools is far too low acrossall patient populations, and even small increases in their usewould translate into very significant increases in survival." Additional References Citations. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Boom Barrier Gate , Tripod Turnstile Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Tubular Barrier Gate.
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