DISPATCHER-ASSISTED CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION INCREASES WHEN USING THE MEDICAL PRIORITY DISPATCH SYSTEM: KAUNAS CITY EXPERIENCE

Introduction and Objectives: Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (OHCA) is unpredictable and a big challenge for relatives, bystanders, and healthcare providers. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the most important components of the “Chain of Survival”. In the telephone dispatch environment, CPR is carried out through an emergency medical dispatcher (EMD)- assisted bystander CPR (bCPR). bCPR improves health-related quality of life in survivors. In December 2011, Kaunas implemented the Medical Priority Dispatch SystemTM (MPDS®), enabling EMDs to deliver standardized bCPR instructions. Therefore, the objective was to compare the frequency of bCPR, and mean total time from call to ROSC or death, pre-MPDS and post-MPDS implementation in Kaunas, Lithuania. Method: A non-randomized, retrospective cohort study, using OHCA cases collected 6 months pre-MPDS and 6 months post-MPDS implementation. Results and Conclusions: 280 cases were studied. There was a significant increase in bCPR rate post-MPDS compared to pre-MPDS (62.4% and 44.0%; p=0.005, respectively). Pre-arrival instructions (PAIs) were provided in 58.7% of the cases post-MPDS. There was a slight increase in ROSC post-MPDS compared to pre-MPDS (23.4% and 17.6%; p=0.282, respectively). Fewer defibrillation attempts were performed post-MPDS compared to pre-MPDS (30.3% and 42.9%; p=0.044, respectively). There was a significant increase in the frequency of bCPR administration when PAIs were given by the EMD, compared to when they were not given (97.3%, and 12.8%; p