The Effects of Ambulance Response Time on Survival Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

BACKGROUND: Patients who suffer cardiac arrest outside medical facilities are at greater risk of death and adverse medical outcomes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation affects the survival rates of such patients, which suggests that response time may be vital to patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of response time, whether more or less than 8 minutes, on the survival of patients who have suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: Data were collected from emergency cases handled by a secondary hospital in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, between January 2017 and October 2019. There were 108 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, 85 of which resulted in death. RESULTS: Bivariate analysis showed no significant association between response time and patient outcomes; however, the odds of having a negative outcome (death) if the response time is more than 8 minutes is double the odds of dying if the response time is less than 8 minutes. CONCLUSION: Ambulance response time to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest does not significantly influence the patient survival rate in the current study hospital. Other variables may have a more significant effect.