Community Cardiac Arrest as a Challenge for Emergency Medical Services in Poland

Przemysław Żuratyński, Daniel Ślęzak (), Kamil Krzyżanowski, Marlena Robakowska and Grzegorz Ulenberg
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Przemysław Żuratyński: Division of Medical Rescue, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
Daniel Ślęzak: Department of Emergency Medicine, Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk, 76-200 Słupsk, Poland
Kamil Krzyżanowski: Division of Medical Rescue, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
Marlena Robakowska: Department of Public Health & Social Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
Grzegorz Ulenberg: Department of Interventional Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-7

Abstract: The problem of cardiac arrest, particularly out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), is the subject of continuous research. The aim of this study was to analyze the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) during the resuscitation of an adult in public places in Poland between 2015 and 2020. A retrospective analysis of the selected documentation obtained from AED distributors, the medical records obtained from the emergency call center, and the emergency medical teams was conducted. During the analysis period, there were 100 cases of recorded and documented use of AEDs in OHCAs in public places. In 70% of the cases, defibrillation was performed with an AED. This result could be higher, but the study’s methodology and limited access to data only allowed for this result. In Poland, there are no legal acts on the registration of automatic external defibrillators and their implementation. Appropriate registries should be introduced nationwide as soon as possible. Due to the inadequacy of the medical records of the emergency medical teams to record the use of automated external defibrillators by a bystander to an incident, changes to these documents should be pursued. Based on such a small cohort, it is not possible to conclude that the return of spontaneous blood circulation is correlated with the use of AEDs and public access to defibrillation PADs.

Keywords: resuscitation; emergency medical services; cardiovascular diseases; healthcare systems; security (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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