Differential Diagnosis and Cause-specific Treatment During OHCA

Differential Diagnosis and Cause-specific Treatment During OHCA - a Prospective Feasibility Study

Differential diagnosis: ultrasound, blood gas analyse combined with examination of the patient and environment is used during Out Of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) to screen possible underlying cause of cardiac arrest. Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in Helsinki has unraveled a protocol for performing differential diagnosis during OHCA. Our study aim is to test the feasibility of this protocol. Our study is a prospective medical record based study. The anesthesiologist operating in the HEMS unit fills a form after encounter of OHCA. Questioners focus on how long did execution of the protocol take, and the cause if the protocol was not completed.

Inclusion Criteria:

• non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest encountered by the helicopter emergency medical services team

Exclusion Criteria:

• return of spontaneous circulation before HEMS crew arrival
• termination of resuscitation attempt before HEMS crew arrival