Table 1.

Scoring of original research (OR) articles.

Quality measure	Question		Points
Design A	Select One	Descriptive studies (including case studies and case series, natural observation studies and descriptive surveys)	1 -or-
		Correlation studies (case control studies, prospective observational studies, retrospective studies)	2 -or-
		Non-randomized or non-blinded experimental studies	3 -or-
		Randomized, blinded experimental studies	4
B	Study design is appropriate to answer the authors’ hypothesis.		1
C	Correct statistical tests are used to analyze the data.		1
D	Results are presented accurately and without bias.		1
E	Limitations are clearly described, and the conclusions are supported by data.		1
Design Total	/ Out of max score 8
Ethics A	The study was approved by an institutional review board (IRB)/institutional animal use and care committee, ethics committee, community group, as required by local laws.		2
B	Informed consent was obtained, or consent was waived by the IRB (give point if not applicable, e.g., animal study).		1
C	The authors declare their conflicts of interest or declare that none exist.		1
Ethics Total	/ Out of a max of 4
Importance A	The study results are not specific to one certain patient population but are broadly generalizable to a variety of settings.		2
B	The topic being studied is an important one, in that it advances the field of cardiac arrest research or care.		2
C	The study is clearly relevant to the realm of cardiac arrest research or care.		1
Importance Total	/ Out of a max of 5
Impact A	The findings or recommendations of this study may be feasibly implemented by practitioners* of cardiac arrest care.		2
B	Practitioners* would likely change their practice if they were aware of this study.		2
C	The authors of this study raise interesting questions that may stimulate further research.		1
Impact Total	/ Out of a max of 5 *Practitioner: reader practicing in the category of the article (physician, epidemiologist, pharmacist etc.)