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Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the young population; a 6-year review of the Irish out-of-hospital cardiac arrest register

Study purpose Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in the young population have only been examined in a limited number of regional studies. Hence, we sought to describe OHCA characteristics and predictors of survival to hospital discharge for the young Irish population. Study design An observational analysis of the national Irish OHCA register for all OHCAs aged ≤35 years between January 2012 and December 2017 was performed. The young population was categorised into three age groups: ≤1 year, 1–15 years and 16–35 years. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the independent predictors of survival to hospital discharge. Results A total of 1295 OHCAs aged ≤35 years (26.9% female, median age 25 (IQR 17–31)) had resuscitation attempted. OHCAs in those aged ≥16 years (n=1005) were more likely to happen outside the home (38.5% vs 22.8%, p<0.001) and be of non-medical aetiology (59% vs 27.6%, p<0.001) compared with those aged <16 years (n=290). Asphyxiation, trauma and drug overdoses accounted for over 90% of the non-medical OHCAs for those 16–35 years. Overall survival to hospital discharge for the cohort was 5.1%; survival was non-significantly higher for those aged 16–35 years compared with those aged 1–15 years (6.0%, vs 2.8% p=0.93). Independent predictors of survival to hospital discharge included bystander witnessed OHCA, a shockable initial rhythm and a bystander defibrillation attempt. Conclusions The high prevalence of non-medical OHCAs and the OHCA location need to be considered when developing OHCA care pathways and preventative strategies to reduce the burden of OHCAs in the young population.