Table 1. Characteristics of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods.
| Variables | Pre-COVID-19 group (n = 891) | COVID-19 group (n = 1,063) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient variables | |||||
| Age, yra | 70.07 ± 15.06 | 71.05 ± 14.98 | 0.047* | ||
| Age, yrb | 73 (60–81) | 75 (62–82) | |||
| Sex (male %) | 577 (64.76) | 647 (60.87) | 0.076 | ||
| Medical history | |||||
| Hypertension | 235 (26.37) | 305 (28.69) | 0.254 | ||
| Diabetes | 175 (19.64) | 193 (18.16) | 0.403 | ||
| Stroke | 77 (8.64) | 74 (6.96) | 0.166 | ||
| Cardiac disease | 159 (17.85) | 152 (14.3) | 0.033* | ||
| Pulmonary disease | 52 (5.84) | 90 (8.47) | 0.026* | ||
| Liver disease | 16 (1.8) | 20 (1.88) | 0.888 | ||
| Renal disease | 38 (4.26) | 40 (3.76) | 0.572 | ||
| Malignancy | 76 (8.53) | 121 (11.38) | 0.037* | ||
| Bystander variables | |||||
| Cardiac arrest place | 0.079 | ||||
| Residence | 592 (66.44) | 761 (71.59) | |||
| Public | 192 (21.55) | 204 (19.19) | |||
| Nursing facility | 41 (4.6) | 37 (3.48) | |||
| Ambulance | 66 (7.41) | 61 (5.74) | |||
| EMS call time (24 hr) | < 0.001*** | ||||
| 08:00–16:00 | 396 (44.44) | 351 (33.02) | |||
| 16:00–24:00 | 290 (32.55) | 435 (40.92) | |||
| 00:00–08:00 | 205 (23.01) | 277 (26.06) | |||
| Bystander-witnessed | 414 (46.46) | 470 (44.21) | 0.320 | ||
| Bystander | 0.061 | ||||
| Family member | 517 (58.02) | 666 (62.65) | |||
| Nonfamily member | 280 (31.43) | 283 (26.62) | |||
| EMS provider | 94 (10.55) | 114 (10.72) | |||
| Bystander CPR | 541 (60.72) | 636 (59.83) | 0.690 | ||
| Bystander AED use | 97 (10.89) | 91 (8.56) | 0.083 | ||
| EMS variables | |||||
| Initial shockable rhythm | 71 (7.97) | 127 (11.95) | 0.004* | ||
| Advanced airway management | < 0.001*** | ||||
| I-gel/supraglottic airway | 638 (71.6) | 952 (89.56) | |||
| Tracheal intubation | 47 (5.27) | 13 (1.22) | |||
| No advanced airway management | 206 (23.12) | 98 (9.22) | |||
| Mechanical chest compression device | 272 (30.53) | 474 (44.59) | < 0.001*** | ||
| Epinephrine use | 147 (16.5) | 190 (17.87) | 0.423 | ||
| EMS process time, minb | |||||
| 1) EMS response time | 7 (5–10) | 8 (6–11) | < 0.001*** | ||
| 2) EMS scene time | 14 (10–18) | 14 (11–18) | 0.627 | ||
| 3) EMS transport time | 6 (4–10) | 7 (4–12) | < 0.001*** | ||
| Hospital variables | |||||
| Initial shockable rhythm | 104 (11.67) | 72 (6.77) | < 0.001*** | ||
| ROSC at any time | 271 (30.42) | 291 (27.38) | 0.004** | ||
| Survival at admission | 201 (22.56) | 196 (18.44) | 0.024* | ||
| Survival to discharge | 70 (7.86) | 58 (5.46) | 0.030* | ||
| Favorable neurological outcome | 54 (6.06) | 38 (3.57) | < 0.001*** | ||
Variables are presented as the mean ± standard deviationa, median (quartile 1-quartile 3)b and number (%). COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019, EMS = emergency medical services, CPR = cardiopulmonary resuscitation, AED = automated external defibrillator, ROSC = return of spontaneous circulation.