The study evaluated whether introducing a Cardiac Arrest Center (CAC) protocol improved outcomes for patients experiencing nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The study analyzed 790 OHCA patients admitted between January 2018 and May 2023. The study compared 432 patients (54.7%) managed before to 358 patients (45.3%) after full CAC implementation.
The German Resuscitation Council and the German Society of Cardiology set standards and determinants of structural, procedural, and outcome quality for a hospital to be certified as a CAC in Germany. The CAC protocol standardized post-resuscitation care. The primary endpoint was a composite of 90-day mortality or unfavorable neurological outcome, defined as Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 3–5.
Implementation of the CAC protocol was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death or poor neurological outcome at 90 days in patients with a Cardiac Arrest Survival Score above the median.
The study provides strong evidence that systematic post-resuscitation care under a CAC protocol can improve survival and neurological outcomes after OHCA, emphasizing the value of specialized care pathways and structured protocols in post-arrest management.
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SOURCE: Journal of the American Heart Association