Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T13:24:48.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cardiac Arrest Research Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2017

Terence D. Valenzuela  and
W. Douglas Weaver
Terence D. Valenzuela*
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, University of Arizona Tucson Ariz.
W. Douglas Weaver
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
*
Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Determining the variables that influence survival in the treatment of cardiac arrest is important as both a research and a quality assurance tool. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains the only medical condition in which it has been determined rigorously that prehospital care affects survival. Thus, it uniquely is suited to outcome-based research and quality assurance studies. After approximately 20 years of study, the determinants of survival after cardiac arrest are well-known; however, a plethora of fascinating research questions remain to be addressed.

The prevalence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest seems to be decreasing. In the Seattle area, there are 30% fewer cases than there were ten years ago. This parallels the overall decline in mortality from ischemic heart disease in the United States in the last thirty years. There also has been a change in the profile of cardiac arrest victims, with today's arrestee several years older than the victim of fifteen years ago. Thus, when one performs comparative clinical trials, the control group of today is very different from the historical control of ten or fifteen years ago.

Keywords

Cardiac ArrestResearchQuality AssuranceResearch DesignHypothesisSurvivalEfficacyDatabaseKey VariablesUtsteinStandardized ReportingValidationData ElementsEnd PointsStatisticsBenefitClinical TrialsBiasPopulationsSignificanceValidity9-1-1Informed Consent
Type
Research Article
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 8 , supplement S1: Research in Prehospital Care Systems , March 1993 , pp. S41 - S44
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1970

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Weaver, WD: Oral presentation: NAEMSP Winter Scientific Meetings, Naples Florida, 01, 1991.Google Scholar
2. Gordon, MJ: Research workbook: A guide for initial planning of clinical, social, and behavioral research projects. J Family Practice 1978;7:145–160.Google ScholarPubMed
3. Cummins, RO, Chamberlain, DA, Abramson, NS, et al: Recommended guidelines for uniform reporting of data from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Ann Emerg Med 1991;20:861–874.Google ScholarPubMed
4. Valenzuela, TD, Spaite, DW, Meislin, HW, et al: Case and survival definitions in out-of-hospital cardiac.arrest. JAMA 1992;267:272–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Pirrallo, , Swor, RA, Maio, RF: Inter-rater agreement of paramedic rhythm labeling: Implications for uniform reporting of data from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In press.Google Scholar
6. Braitman, LE: Confidence intervals assess both clinical significance and statistical significance. Ann Intern Med 1991;114:515–517.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Hulley, SB, Feigal, D, Martin, M, Cummings, SR. Designing a new study: IV. Experiments. In: Hulley, SB, Cummings, SR. Designing Clinical Research. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1988, pp 110–127.Google Scholar
8. Hart, CWM: The Hawthorne experiments. In: White, KL, Freni, J, Ordonez, C, et al: Health Services research: An Anthology. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization, 1992, pp 29–37 (Scientific Publication 534)Google Scholar
9. ISIS-II (Second International Study of Infarct Survival) Collaborative Croup: Randomized trial of intravenous streptokinase, oral aspirin, both or neither among 17,187 cases of suspected Acute myocardial infarction. Lancet 1988; 12:349–360.Google Scholar
10. Weaver, WD, Cobb, LA, Hallstrom, AP, et al: Considerations for improving survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Ann Emerg Med 1986;15:1181–1186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Personal Communication: Clark, LL, Research Analyst for Tucson Fire Department/Arizona Emergency Medicine Research Center Sudden Death Study.Google Scholar