Table 1.

Comparison of Out-of-Hospital and In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

	In-Hospital Cardiac arrest	Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Incidence	290 000 per year in the United States	350 000 per year in the United Statesa
Patient characteristics	Mean age: 66 y Approximately 60% men	Median age: 65 y Approximately 60% men
Presenting rhythm	Often nonshockable (approximately 80%)	Often nonshockable (approximately 80%)
Cause	Primarily cardiac and respiratory	Primarily cardiac
Prevention	Potentially possible with recognition of deterioration and early intervention	Often impossible given the lack of pre-cardiac arrest monitoring
Timing of basic life support	Often instantaneously	Variable depending on bystander involvement
Timing of advanced life support drugs	Within 5 to 10 min	On average, approximately 20 min after the onset of cardiac arrest
Airway management	Approximately one-third of patients already intubated (eg, intensive care unit patients); often performed by physicians	Often performed by clinicians (eg, paramedics) with variable experience in advanced airway management
Drugs	Limited evidence; epinephrine and amiodarone recommended	Some evidence; epinephrine and amiodarone recommended
Post-cardiac arrest treatment	Limited evidence; supportive care and targeted temperature management recommended	Some evidence; supportive care and targeted temperature management recommended
Prognostication	Limited evidence; focuses on both neurological status and organ failure	Some evidence; focuses on neurological status
Survival to discharge	Approximately 25%	10% to 12%

^aAssessed by emergency medical services but not necessarily treated.²