Challenging the “Scoop and Run” Model for Management of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) represents an enormous public health challenge in the US, with an estimated incidence of 140.7 per 100  000 persons per year. Of the 347 322 cases of OHCA assessed by emergency medical services (EMS) in 2015, 52% underwent resuscitation efforts with 10.4% of these surviving to hospital discharge. There is, however, significant regional variation in the incidence of, mortality due to, and survival to discharge associated with OHCA. Historically, management of OHCA in the US was guided by the model of rapidly transporting the patient to a hospital, in contrast to the model used in France and Germany of treating the patient at the scene. The promise of multiple potential in-hospital OHCA thera pies and recent research into potential innovations in the out-of-hospital management have only fueled the debate between these 2 models, which in EMS parlance have been described, respectively, as “scoop and run” and “stay and play.”
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research