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Paediatrics
Risk scores sort survival odds in paediatric OHCA
Predicting survival in pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: Development and internal validation of risk scores
The American Journal of Emergency Medicine · 2026-10-31 · Added 12 November 2026
A US national registry study (CARES, 2013–2023) developed and internally validated paediatric OHCA risk scores from prehospital variables, classifying 26,895 children into low/moderate/high survival groups with AUROC 0.76–0.82 and average discharge-survival probabilities from 3% to 48%.
- Study type
- Registry
- Design
- Registry-based risk-score development and internal validation
- Participants
- 26,895 paediatric OHCA patients
- Main finding
- 27.8% survived to admission and 11.9% to discharge; scores using gender, arrest location, witness status, aetiology, bystander CPR, prehospital AED use and first rhythm reached AUROC 0.76–0.82, with average survival 3–48% across low/moderate/high groups
- Caveat
- Internal validation only — not yet externally validated or prospectively tested at the bedside
- Bottom line
- Hypothesis-generating
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Built from a 26,895-patient national arrest registry using variables crews already record — bystander CPR, AED use, first rhythm — so the score travels well beyond the US.
Learning goal
Weigh how prehospital arrest features shape prognostic conversations in paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
More
- Topic: Paediatrics
- Daily scan: 12 November 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 12 November 2026
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