The global spread of COVID-19 in 2020 severely impacted healthcare services due to the overwhelming demand on public health systems. This was particularly evident in the increased incidence and decreased survival rates in out-of-hospital cardiac arres...
The global spread of COVID-19 in 2020 severely impacted healthcare services due to the overwhelming demand on public health systems. This was particularly evident in the increased incidence and decreased survival rates in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. Understanding these changes is crucial for enhancing OHCA patient outcomes and preparing for future pandemics. This retrospective observational study, using data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA), analyzed OHCA patient survival in 2019 and 2020 across South Korea. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS Statistics ver. 25.0 and performed using frequency analysis, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression analysis with a significance level set at .05. The study included 56,615 patients, with 27,634 in the pre-pandemic period and 28,981 in the post-pandemic period. The findings include an increase in OHCA incidence among the elderly (from 59% to 60.6%, p<.001) and a decrease in the rate of shockable rhythms prior hospital arrival (from 12.7% to 11.8%, p<.001). Additionally, shockable rhythms at the emergency room also decreased (from 2.3% to 2.0%, p<.001). There were significant decreases in survived events, survival to hospital discharge, and favorable neurological outcomes at hospital discharge. Regarding the survival of OHCA patients, the odds ratio of survived events in cases presenting with a pre-hospital shockable rhythm increased to 9.354 times (95% CI=7.584~11.533) in the pre-pandemic period and 6.859 times (95% CI=5.604~8.395) in the post-pandemic period. The odds ratio of survived events in patients presenting with a pre-hospital shockable rhythm was 2.807 times (95% CI=1.777~4.433) in the pre-pandemic period and 4.425 times (95% CI=2.911~6.726) in the post-pandemic period. Furthermore, the odds ratio of favorable neurological outcomes at hospital discharge in these cases increased to 4.328 times (95% CI=2.606~7.189) in the pre-pandemic period and 6.000 times (95% CI=3.785~9.512) in the post-pandemic period. In conclusion, this study demonstrated significant changes in OHCA outcomes during the pandemic period, with a notable impact on patients with shockable rhythms. These findings suggest the need for further research on the factors increasing the prevalence of shockable rhythms in OHCA patients.