Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospital and in-hospital treatment and outcomes of patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a Japanese multicenter cohort study

Background In the chain of survival for Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), each component of care contributes to improve the prognosis of the patient with OHCA. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic potentially affected each part of care in the chain of survival. The aim of this study was to compare prehospital care, in-hospital treatment, and outcomes among OHCA patients before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We analyzed data from a multicenter prospective study in Kanto area, Japan, named SOS-KANTO 2017. We enrolled patients who registered during the pre-pandemic period (September 2019 to December 2019) and the post-pandemic period (June 2020 to March 2021). The main outcome measures were 30-day mortality and the proportion of favorable outcomes at 1 month, and secondary outcome measures were changes in prehospital and in-hospital treatments between the pre- and post-pandemic periods. Results There were 2015 patients in the pre-pandemic group, and 5023 in the post-pandemic group. The proportion of advanced airway management by emergency medical service (EMS) increased ( p < 0.01), and EMS call-to-hospital time was prolonged ( p < 0.01) in the post- versus pre-pandemic group. There were no differences between the groups in defibrillation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or temperature control therapy ( p = 0.43, p = 0.14, and p = 0.16, respectively). Survival rate at 1 month and favorable outcome rate at 1 month were lower ( p = 0.01 and p < 0.01, respectively) in the post- versus pre-pandemic group. Conclusion Survival rate and favorable outcome rate 1 month after return of spontaneous circulation of OHCA worsened, EMS response time was prolonged, and advanced airway management by EMS increased in the post- versus pre-pandemic group; however, most prehospital and in-hospital management did not change between pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic.