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Cardiac arrest
Every minute counts: early bystander CPR
Decreased Early Bystander CPR Initiation Despite Stable Overall Rates: A Nationwide Time-to-Event Analysis During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Resuscitation Plus · 2026-10 · Added 17 October 2026
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).
- Study type
- Registry
- Design
- Retrospective nationwide registry cohort with time-to-event analysis
- Participants
- 56,082 layperson-witnessed non-traumatic OHCAs
- Main finding
- Overall bystander CPR was stable (58.7% vs 58.6%), but early initiation fell during the pandemic (aHR 0.96); CPR started at 0–3 min carried aOR 3.27 for favourable neurological outcome at 1 month versus >10 min.
- Caveat
- Pandemic-era comparison; the timing–outcome link is associative and residual confounding (dispatch, case mix) can't be excluded.
- Bottom line
- Supports current practice
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Bystander CPR timing sits at the front of every Australian chain of survival, and this is one of the largest OHCA registries anywhere, so the timing–outcome gradient travels directly.
Learning goal
Strengthen my dispatch coaching techniques so bystanders start CPR earlier in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
More
- Topic: Cardiac arrest
- Daily scan: 17 October 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 17 October 2026
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