Paramedic PapersHome Cardiac arrest Dispatcher CPR and survival in shockable OHCA
Cardiac arrest
Dispatcher CPR and survival in shockable OHCA
From call to home: The role of dispatcher-assisted CPR in patient survival
Physiology International · 2026-10-13 · Added 15 October 2026
Nationwide Hungarian cohort of 3,674 shockable OHCAs found dispatcher-assisted CPR ongoing at ambulance arrival was associated with far better outcomes than crew-initiated CPR — 30-day survival 54.6% vs 7.1% and one-year survival 45.8% vs 6.2%.
- Study type
- Registry
- Design
- Retrospective nationwide observational cohort, Utstein-style reporting
- Participants
- 3,674 adults with VF/VT OHCA
- Main finding
- DA-CPR ongoing at arrival vs crew-initiated: ROSC 92.0% vs 12.4%, hospital admission with sustained circulation 90.8% vs 11.7%, 30-day survival 54.6% vs 7.1%, one-year survival 45.8% vs 6.2% (all P < 0.001)
- Caveat
- Massive confounding by indication — DA-CPR still running at arrival marks callers who started bystander CPR early, not a randomised comparison
- Bottom line
- Supports current practice
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Dispatcher-assisted CPR is standard practice across Australian ambulance services, so this is about doing it well rather than adopting anything new.
Learning goal
Strengthen my telephone coaching of bystander CPR so chest compressions begin earlier in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
More
- Topic: Cardiac arrest
- Daily scan: 15 October 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 15 October 2026
Related papers on Cardiac arrest
-
Every minute counts: early bystander CPR
A time-to-event analysis of the All-Japan Utstein registry found overall bystander CPR rates stayed stable through the pandemic, but initiation within 10 minutes slipped — and earlier starts sharply improved neurological outcomes (aOR 3.27 for 0–3 min vs >10 min).
-
Commotio cordis outcomes hinge on fast AED
A nationwide Japanese school-sports database reconstructed 30 sports-related OHCAs from external causes and found commotio cordis cases did dramatically better when AEDs were applied fast — 80% favourable neurological outcome — while other external causes fared poorly.
-
Signs of life in traumatic OHCA
Retrospective analysis of 462 adults with traumatic OHCA from a Japanese prospective registry found 4.8% survived beyond the ED, with the best survival where scene cardiac activity and spontaneous respiration coexisted (25%).
-
ROSC nomogram from a physician-led EMS
Chinese retrospective study of 9,386 non-traumatic OHCA cases built a ROSC prediction nomogram (AUC 0.775) from factors including shockable rhythm, intubation and — unique to physician-staffed systems — the attending physician's sex and seniority.