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Vaillancourt C, Charette M, Naidoo S, Taljaard M, Church M, Hodges S, Leduc S, Christenson J, Cheskes S, Dainty K, Feldman M, Goldstein J, Tallon J, Helmer J, Sibley A, Spidel M, Blanchard I, Garland J, Cyr K, Brehaut J, Dorian P, Lacroix C, Zambon S, Thiruganasambandamoorthy V. Multi-centre implementation of an Educational program to improve the Cardiac Arrest diagnostic accuracy of ambulance Telecommunicators and survival outcomes for sudden cardiac arrest victims: the EduCATe study design and methodology. BMC Emerg Med 2021; 21:26. [PMID: 33663395 PMCID: PMC7931555 DOI: 10.1186/s12873-021-00416-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sudden cardiac death remains a leading cause of mortality in Canada, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths annually. Most cardiac arrest victims collapse in their own home (85% of the time) and 50% are witnessed by a family member or bystander. Survivors have a quality of life similar to the general population, but the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) rarely exceeds 8%. Victims are almost four times more likely to survive when receiving bystander CPR, but bystander CPR rates have remained low in Canada over the past decade, not exceeding 15–25% until recently. Telecommunication-assisted CPR instructions have been shown to significantly increase bystander CPR rates, but agonal breathing may be misinterpreted as a sign of life by 9–1-1 callers and telecommunicators, and is responsible for as much as 50% of missed OHCA diagnoses. We sought to improve the ability and speed with which ambulance telecommunicators can recognize OHCA over the phone, initiate timely CPR instructions, and improve survival. Methods In this multi-center national study, we will implement and evaluate an educational program developed for ambulance telecommunicators using a multiple baseline interrupted time-series design. We will compare outcomes 12 months before and after the implementation of a 20-min theory-based educational video addressing barriers to recognition of OHCA while in the presence of agonal breathing. Participating Canadian sites demonstrated prior ability to collect standardized data on OHCA. Data will be collected from eligible 9–1-1 recordings, paramedic documentation and hospital medical records. Eligible cases will include suspected or confirmed OHCA of presumed cardiac origin in patients of any age with attempted resuscitation. Discussion The ability of telecommunication-assisted CPR instructions to improve bystander CPR and survival rates for OHCA victims is undeniable. The ability of telecommunicators to recognize OHCA over the phone is unequivocally impeded by relative lack of training on agonal breathing, and reluctance to initiate CPR instructions when in doubt. Our pilot data suggests the potential impact of this project will be to increase absolute OHCA recognition and bystander CPR rates by at least 10%, and absolute out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival by 5% or more. Trial registration Prospectively registered on March 28, 2019 at ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03894059.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Vaillancourt
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada. .,Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. .,School of Epidemiology & Public Health-Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
| | - Manya Charette
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada
| | - Sarika Naidoo
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada
| | - Monica Taljaard
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada.,School of Epidemiology & Public Health-Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Matthew Church
- Cardiac Arrest Survivor, Study Patient Partner, Toronto, Canada
| | - Stephanie Hodges
- Central Ambulance Communications Centre, Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | - Jim Christenson
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Vancouver, Canada.,Center for Health Evaluation and Outcomes Sciences, Providence Health Care Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Sheldon Cheskes
- Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine, Toronto, Canada.,Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Katie Dainty
- Department of Research and Innovation, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Canada.,Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Judah Goldstein
- Division of Emergency Medical Services, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.,Emergency Health Services Operations, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - John Tallon
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Jennie Helmer
- Provincial Health Services Authority, British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Aaron Sibley
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.,Division of Paramedicine, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada
| | - Matthew Spidel
- Island Emergency Medical Services, Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada
| | - Ian Blanchard
- Department of Emergency Medical Services, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada.,Department of Community Health Sciences-Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | | | - Kathryn Cyr
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada
| | - Jamie Brehaut
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada.,School of Epidemiology & Public Health-Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Paul Dorian
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Cardiology and Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Colette Lacroix
- International Business Machines (IBM) Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Sandra Zambon
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Toronto, Canada
| | - Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Rm F649, 1053 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9, Canada.,Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.,School of Epidemiology & Public Health-Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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Mirhaghi A, Shafaee H, Malekzadeh J, Hasanzadeh F. Recognizing Sudden Cardiac Arrest May Require More Than Two Questions during Telephone Triage: Developing a Complementary Checklist. Bull Emerg Trauma 2017; 5:104-109. [PMID: 28507997 PMCID: PMC5406180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2016] [Revised: 02/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To develop decision-support tools to identify patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). METHODS Eighty calls related to SCA were content analyzed, and the contextual patterns that emerged were organized into a checklist. Two researchers independently analyzed the recorded calls and compared their findings. Eighteen dispatchers scored 20 cases (which included SCA and non-SCA cases) both with and without the checklist. Correct responses for each case and agreement among dispatchers have been reported. RESULTS Eighty audio files (total time, 96 min) were analyzed, and a total of 602 codes were extracted from the text and recordings. The caller's tone of voice and presence or absence of background voices, calling for an ambulance and giving the dispatcher the address promptly, and description of the primary complaint and respirations accounted for 38%, 39%, and 23% of all codes, respectively. A 15-item complementary checklist has been developed. The mean percentages of correct responses were 66.9%+27.96% prior to the use of checklist and 80.05%+10.84% afterwards. Results of the independent t test for checklist scores showed that statistically significant differences were present between the SCA and non-SCA cases (t=5.88, df=18, p=0.000). CONCLUSION Decision support tools can potentially increase the recognition rate of SCA cases, and therefore produce a higher rate of dispatcher-directed CPR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Mirhaghi
- Evidence-based Caring Research Center, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Hojjat Shafaee
- Emergency Medical Communication Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Javad Malekzadeh
- Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Farzaneh Hasanzadeh
- Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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Vaillancourt C, Charette M, Kasaboski A, Hoad M, Larocque V, Crête D, Logan S, Lamoureux P, McBride J, Cheskes S, Wells GA, Stiell IG. Cardiac arrest diagnostic accuracy of 9-1-1 dispatchers: a prospective multi-center study. Resuscitation 2015; 90:116-20. [PMID: 25766093 DOI: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2015.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Revised: 02/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We sought to determine the ability of 9-1-1 dispatchers to accurately determine the presence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) over the telephone, and to determine the frequency with which CPR instructions are initiated and chest compressions delivered in patients not in cardiac arrest. METHODS We conducted a multi-center, prospective cohort study of adult OOHCA patients not witnessed by EMS for which resuscitation was attempted. Dispatchers were not health care professionals and received 6 weeks of training followed by a 6-month preceptorship. We reviewed 9-1-1 call digital recordings for all unconscious patients for which the possibility of cardiac arrest was considered using a piloted standardized data collection sheet. RESULTS We reviewed 2260 recordings occurring between January 2008 and October 2009. Among those, 1536 were confirmed OOHCA, and 724 were not. Among the 1536 confirmed OOHCA cases, 1012 were recognized by dispatchers and 524 were not. Among the 724 cases not in cardiac arrest, dispatchers suspected cardiac arrest was present in 490 and absent in 234. OOHCA diagnostic accuracy characteristics were: sensitivity 65.9% (95% CI 63.5-68.2%), specificity 32.3% (95% CI 29.0-35.9%), PPV 67.4%, and NPV 30.9%. Dispatchers believed that OOHCA was present in 490/2260 (21.7%) cases when it was not, resulting in 54/490 (11.0%) patients inappropriately receiving chest compressions, or 54/2260 (2.4%) of the whole cohort. CONCLUSIONS Dispatchers had a fair sensitivity and modest specificity for the recognition of OOHCA. We found a very small number of patients receiving CPR when not in cardiac arrest, supporting the current use of dispatch-assisted CPR instructions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Vaillancourt
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Manya Charette
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ann Kasaboski
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Marianne Hoad
- Advanced Care Paramedic, Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Vivianne Larocque
- Ottawa Paramedic Service Central Ambulance Communication Center, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Denis Crête
- Ottawa Paramedic Service Central Ambulance Communication Center, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Stephanie Logan
- Ottawa Paramedic Service Central Ambulance Communication Center, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick Lamoureux
- Ottawa Paramedic Service Central Ambulance Communication Center, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Jeff McBride
- Ottawa Paramedic Service Central Ambulance Communication Center, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sheldon Cheskes
- Sunnyrook Center for Prehospital Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - George A Wells
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ian G Stiell
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Vaillancourt C, Charette ML, Bohm K, Dunford J, Castrén M. In out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, does the description of any specific symptoms to the emergency medical dispatcher improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of cardiac arrest: a systematic review of the literature. Resuscitation 2011; 82:1483-9. [PMID: 21704442 DOI: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2011.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2011] [Revised: 05/11/2011] [Accepted: 05/18/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
AIM We sought to determine if, in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), the description of any specific symptoms to the emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) improved the accuracy of the diagnosis of cardiac arrest. METHODS For this systematic review, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library with no restrictions, and hand-searched the gray literature. Eligible studies included dispatcher interaction with callers reporting OHCA, and reported diagnosis of cardiac arrest. Two independent reviewers used standardized forms and procedures to review papers for inclusion, quality, and to extract data from eligible studies. Findings were peer-reviewed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. RESULTS We identified 494 citations; 74 were selected for full evaluation (kappa=0.70) and 23 were included (kappa=0.68), including six before-after, two case-control, and 15 descriptive studies. One before-after study and ten descriptive studies report that inquiring about consciousness and breathing status can help dispatchers recognize cardiac arrest with moderate sensitivity [ranging from 38% to 97%], and high specificity [ranging from 95% to 99%]. One case-control study, three before-after studies, and four observational studies report that abnormal breathing is a significant barrier to cardiac arrest recognition. One before-after study and two descriptive studies report that seizure activity can be a manifestation of cardiac arrest. CONCLUSION Dispatchers should recognize cardiac arrest when a victim is described as unconscious and not breathing or not breathing normally, and consider cardiac arrest when generalized seizure is described. They should receive specific instructions on how to best recognize the presence of abnormal breathing.
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