Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Community first-responders in cardiac arrest. Effect on survival? A comprehensive Danish study of 29,445 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
Authors' conclusion
In OHCA, basic life support initiated by bystanders was associated with a survival rate more than twice that of OHCA patients whose first resuscitation was provided by community first-responders or ambulance personnel. Our findings support early resuscitation, but we found no evidence to support dispatching community first-responders to OHCA.
Study context
- Population
- Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases in Denmark from 2018 through 2023patients analysed after exclusions, of 29,445 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) cases, in 505 cases the provider of the initial CPR was unclear
- Participants
- 21,413 cases
- Comparison
- Type of responder who initiated resuscitative efforts: bystanders present at the incident, community first-responders, or ambulance personnel
- On-scene bystandersn = 12,613
- Community first-respondersn = 2,155
- Emergency medical service (EMS) personneln = 6,140reference
- Outcome
- Survival
- Follow-up
- 30 days and 365 days
Methodological detailsnational
- National
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
2.42
30-day survival
Odds ratio
2.51
365-day survival
Original publication
Community first-responders in cardiac arrest. Effect on survival? A comprehensive Danish study of 29,445 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Resuscitation. Published 5 March 2026. doi:10.
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