Acute cardiac care & resuscitationCohort study
Time to Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival Outcomes in Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in the United States
- retrospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
In pediatric OHCA, earlier bystander CPR initiation was associated with improved survival outcomes, with the greatest benefit observed within the first 5 minutes. These findings underscore the importance of early CPR initiation and the need for continued efforts to enhance bystander response.
Study context
- Population
- Pediatric (<18 years) patients with nontraumatic OHCA in the United States, Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, 2013 to 2023
- Participants
- 10,991 pediatric OHCAs
- Exposure
- Time to bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) vs patients without bystander CPR
- Bystander CPRn = 5,446
- Without bystander CPRn = 5,545reference
- Outcome
- Survival to hospital discharge
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs without bystander CPRAdjusted odds ratio (95% CI)
Bystander CPR at 0-1 minute
1.91(1.65–2.20)
Bystander CPR at 2-3 minutes
1.98(1.63–2.40)
Bystander CPR at 4-5 minutes
1.37(1.09–1.72)
- Overall survived to discharge
- 1677 (15.3%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
- Time to bystander CPR
- 3.0 · median · IQR 1.0–9.0 · minutes
Favorable neurological survival (secondary)
- Overall favorable neurological survival
- 1420 (12.9%)
- ≈2-fold higher odds when CPR was initiated within 3 minutes
- no benefit when initiated after 5 minutes
Original publication
Time to Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival Outcomes in Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in the United States. Circ Popul Health Outcomes. Published 1 June 2026. doi:10.1161/circoutcomes.125.013166
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it