Cardiac arrest & resuscitation
Differences in health care utilization prior to cardiac arrest by shockable and non-shockable presenting rhythms: a case control study
Authors' conclusion
Shockable and non-shockable OHCA show high rates of health care utilization prior to cardiac arrest. However, there were important differences in health care utilization between the shockable and non-shockable groups.
Study context
- Population
- Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) patients, British Columbia Cardiac Arrest Registry, 2009–2019matched 4:1 to controls
- Comparison
- Shockable and non-shockable OHCA vs matched controls
- Shockablen = 3,461
- Non-shockablen = 11,470
- Outcome
- Hospital admissions or ED visits
- Follow-up
- 3 years prior to arrest
Methodological detailsage, sex and geographic population-matched, 4:1 matching, registry-based
- Age, sex and geographic population-matched
- 4:1 matching
- Registry-based
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Hospitalization or ED visit
Each group vs controlsOdds ratio (95% CI)
Shockable
1.74(1.60–1.88)
Non-shockable
3.13(2.99–3.29)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
All health care encounters (hospitalization, emergency department (ED) or outpatient visits)
- More common in both shockable and non-shockable cardiac arrests, with a higher rate of cardiovascular (CV) encounters
Non-CV encounters
- Higher relative rates in non-shockable cardiac arrests
Biweekly rates of hospital and emergency visits
- Increased for both groups, rising at 6-24 weeks prior to arrest
Original publication
Differences in health care utilization prior to cardiac arrest by shockable and non-shockable presenting rhythms: a case control study. Resuscitation. Published 25 March 2026. doi:10.
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