Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in London during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: There is an emerging potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and incidence and outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). We aimed to describe the incidence, characteristics and outcomes from OHCA in London, UK during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: We examined data for all OHCA patients attended by the London Ambulance Service from 1st March to 30th April 2020 and compared our findings to the previous year. We also compared OHCA characteristics and short-term outcomes for those suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 with those who were not. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between daily COVID-19 cases and OHCA incidents. Results: We observed an 81% increase in OHCAs during the pandemic, and a strong correlation between the daily number of COVID-19 cases and OHCA incidents (r= 0.828, p<0.001). We report an increase in OHCA occurring in a private location (92.9% vs 85.5%, p<0.001) and an increased bystander CPR (63.3% vs 52.6%, p<0.001) during the pandemic, as well as fewer resuscitation attempts (36.4% vs 39.6%, p=0.03) and longer EMS response times (9.3 vs 7.2min, p<0.001). Survival at 30 days post-arrest was poorer during the pandemic (4.4% vs 10.6%, p<0.001) and amongst patients where COVID-19 was considered likely (1.0% vs 6.3%, p<0.001). Conclusions: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in London, we saw a dramatic rise in the incidence of OHCA, accompanied by a significant reduction in survival. The pattern of increased incidence and mortality closely reflected the rise in confirmed COVID-19 infections in the city.

Automated summary

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in London, there was a significant increase in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence, accompanied by a dramatic reduction in survival rates. The number of OHCA incidents showed a strong correlation with the daily number of COVID-19 cases.