Resuscitation
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Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) remains a major public health problem. The majority of SCA events occur in the home; however, scant data has been published regarding the effectiveness of privately owned AEDs. ⋯ People who purchase an AED for their home, even without previous AED experience, are able to use the device successfully in both adults and children. The high survival rate observed in this study demonstrates that lay responders with privately owned AEDs can successfully and safely use the devices.
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Comparative Study
Tertiary centres have improved survival compared to other hospitals in the Copenhagen area after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been reported to carry very varying morbidity and mortality. However, it remains unclear whether this is caused by intrinsic factors of the OHCA or due to the level of in-hospital care. The aim of this study is to compare 30-day and long-term mortality after OHCA at tertiary heart centres and non-tertiary university hospitals. ⋯ Admission to tertiary centres is associated with lower mortality rates after OHCA compared with non-tertiary hospitals.