Factors Associated with the Transfer Decision in Resuscitated Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Presenting to a Hospital with Limited Targeted Temperature Management Capability in Korea

Management of Patients With Cardiac Arrest Requiring Interfacility Transport: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

People who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest often require care at a regional center for continued treatment after resuscitation, but many do not initially present to the hospital where they will be admitted. For patients who require interfacility transport after cardiac arrest, the decision to transfer between centers is complex and often based on individual clinical characteristics, resources at the presenting hospital, and available transport resources. Once the decision has been made to transfer a patient after cardiac arrest, there is little direct guidance on how best to provide interfacility transport. Accepting centers depend on transferring emergency departments and emergency medical services professionals to make important and nuanced decisions about postresuscitation care that may determine the efficacy of future treatments. The consequences of early care are greater when transport delays occur, which is common in rural areas or due to inclement weather. Challenges of providing interfacility transfer services for patients who have experienced cardiac arrest include varying expertise of clinicians, differing resources available to them, and nonstandardized communication between transferring and receiving centers. Although many aspects of care are insufficiently studied to determine implications for specific out-of-hospital treatment on outcomes, a general approach of maintaining otherwise recommended postresuscitation care during interfacility transfer is reasonable. This includes close attention to airway, vascular access, ventilator management, sedation, cardiopulmonary monitoring, antiarrhythmic treatments, blood pressure control, temperature control, and metabolic management. Patient stability for transfer, equity and inclusion, and communication also must be considered. Many of these aspects can be delivered by protocol-driven care.

Association between health insurance status and transfer of patients with return of spontaneous circulation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

AIM

To explore the factors related to the probability of inter-hospital transfer to a heart attack centre in patients with return of spontaneous circulation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the Republic of Korea.

METHODS

This cross-sectional observational study used data from a Korean national emergency medical service OHCA database for cases between 2015 and 2017. Adult OHCA patients with a presumed cardiac origin who initially presented at a non-heart-attack centre were included in the analysis. The main exposure variable was health insurance type (national health insurance versus medical aid), which was used as a proxy measure of individual socioeconomic status. The primary outcome was emergency department disposition (transfer to a heart attack centre versus no transfer). A multivariate logistic analysis using propensity score matching was conducted. We also analysed the associations between patient transfer and neurologic recovery as well as survival to discharge.

RESULTS

Of 7804 eligible OHCA patients, 1804 23.0%) were transferred to a heart attack centre. Patients on medical aid were less likely to be transferred (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-0.95 in a matched cohort) compared with patients with national health insurance. Transfer to a heart attack centre was significantly associated with a lower risk of death (adjusted OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.33-0.45) and better neurologic recovery (adjusted OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.38-0.56).

CONCLUSION

Socioeconomic status appears likely to influence the probability of transfer to a heart attack centre after resuscitation.