Out of Hospital Pediatric Cardiac Arrest: Prospective Study from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Hashim M. Bin Salleeh^1*, Manal Al Tom¹, Yasmeen Ahmed¹, William J. Leggio³ and Nabeel F. Abdulqader²

¹Deparment of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ²Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, College for Emergency Medical Services, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ³EMS Education, School of Pharmacy and Allied Health, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2071

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to identify the incidence and clinical variables of out of hospital non-traumatic pediatric cardiac arrest in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A prospective protocol was developed to gather information relating to out of hospital non-traumatic pediatric cardiac arrests that were transported to King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 23 patients were enrolled in the study and ranged from 10 days to 13 years old. Males represented 69.6% of the enrolled patients. The patient’s home was reported as where 87% of the patients went into cardiac arrest. Only 1 patient was transported to the emergency department by ambulance with majority of others being transported by private vehicle. Asystole was the most common cardiac rhythm upon arrival. Eleven cases received cardiopulmonary resuscitation with 6 of these patients having a known history of chronic illness. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was not performed on 12 of the patients and all of these but two had a known chronic illness. None of the patients enrolled in this study had a spontaneous return of circulation. Data from this study support other studies on the low survival rate for out of hospital pediatric cardiac arrest. Recommendations for public education and further research at a national level on the topic were supported by the limitations and findings.

KEYWORDS: Out-of-hospital; cardiac arrest; pediatric; Saudi Arabia

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