Acute cardiac care & resuscitationCohort study
Barriers to dispatcher-assisted CPR are associated with delayed bystander CPR and worse outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective cohort study
- retrospective cohort study
- linked to the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
- Bayesian modelling
Authors' conclusion
Barriers to DA-CPR after dispatcher recognition of cardiac arrest were common and associated with delayed bystander CPR and worse outcomes. Targeting these barriers could improve dispatcher call handling and bystander CPR rates.
Study context
- Population
- Transcribed emergency calls for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in which the dispatcher recognised cardiac arrest, from five OHCA studiesconfirmed OHCA
- Participants
- 3,263 participants
- Exposure
- Barrier-present vs barrier-free calls
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
At least one barrier
Confirmed OHCA with at least one barrier
43.7%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | adjusted RR (95% CrI CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| ROSC · lower ROSC with barrier-present calls | 0.89 (0.81–0.98) | |
| 30-day survival · lower 30-day survival with barrier-present calls | 0.57 (0.46–0.71) | |
| 0.512Adjusted relative risk (log scale) |
| Outcome | Barrier-present calls | Barrier-free calls | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative bystander CPR initiation by number of barriers | Not reported in the abstract | cumulative bystander CPR initiation 85% |
- Cumulative bystander CPR initiation by number of barriers: Calls with ≥3 barriers cumulative bystander CPR initiation below 50%
Most common barrier: inability to move the patient
- Inability to move the patient, of barrier-present calls
- 55.8%
Original publication
Barriers to dispatcher-assisted CPR are associated with delayed bystander CPR and worse outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective cohort study. Resuscitation. Published 11 September 2026. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2026.111305
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it