Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability with effective treatment, including thrombolysis or thrombectomy, being time-critical for favourable outcomes. While door-to-needle time in hospital has been optimized for many years, little is known about the ambulance on-scene time (OST). OST has been reported to account for 44% of total alarm-to-door time, thereby being a major time component. We aimed to analyse ambulance OST in stroke patients eligible for thrombolysis and identify potential areas of time optimization.

The medical dispatcher plays an essential role as part of the first link in the Chain of Survival, by recognising the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) during the emergency call, dispatching the appropriate first responder or emergency medical services response, performing dispatcher assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and referring to the nearest automated external defibrillator. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate and compare studies reporting recognition of OHCA patients during emergency calls.

Background Little is known about how COVID-19 influenced engagement of citizen responders dispatched to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) by a smartphone application. The objective was to describe and analyze the Danish Citizen Responder Program and bystander interventions (both citizen responders and nondispatched bystanders) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Methods and Results All OHCAs from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, with citizen responder activation in 2 regions of Denmark were included. We compared citizen responder engagement for OHCA in the nonlockdown period (January 1, 2020, to March 10, 2020, and April 21, 2020, to June 30, 2020) with the lockdown period (March 11, 2020, to April 20, 2020). Data are displayed in the order lockdown versus nonlockdown period. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation rates did not differ in the 2 periods (99% versus 92%; P=0.07). Bystander defibrillation (9% versus 14%; P=0.4) or return-of-spontaneous circulation (23% versus 23%; P=1.0) also did not differ. A similar amount of citizen responders accepted alarms during the lockdown (6 per alarm; interquartile range, 6) compared with the nonlockdown period (5 per alarm; interquartile range, 5) (P=0.05). More citizen responders reported performing chest-compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation during lockdown compared with nonlockdown (79% versus 59%; P=0.0029), whereas fewer performed standardized cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including ventilations (19% versus 38%; P=0.0061). Finally, during lockdown, more citizen responders reported being not psychologically affected by attending an OHCA compared with nonlockdown period (68% versus 56%; P<0.0001). Likewise, fewer reported being mildly affected during lockdown (26%) compared with nonlockdown (35%) (P=0.003). Conclusions The COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark was not associated with decreased bystander-initiated resuscitation in OHCAs attended by citizen responders.

To evaluate the association between regulatory drug safety advisories and changes in drug utilisation.

Background We aim to examine diurnal and weekday variations in citizen responder availability and intervention at out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) resuscitation. Methods and Results We included confirmed OHCAs where citizen responders were activated by a smartphone application in the Capital Region of Denmark between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. OHCAs were analyzed by time of day (daytime: 07:00 am-03:59 pm, evening: 4:00-11:59 pm, and nighttime: 12:00-06:59 am) and day of week (Monday-Friday or Saturday-Sunday/public holidays). We included 438 OHCAs where 6836 citizen responders were activated. More citizen responders accepted alarms in the evening (mean 4.8 [95% CI, 4.4-5.3]) compared with daytime (3.7 [95% CI, 3.4-4.4]) and nighttime (1.8 [95% CI, 1.5-2.2]) (P<0.001), and more accepted alarms during weekends (4.3 [95% CI, 3.8-4.9]) compared with weekdays (3.4 [95% CI, 3.2-3.7]) (P<0.001). Proportion of OHCAs where at least 1 citizen responder arrived before Emergency Medical Services were significantly different between day (42.9%), evening (50.3%), and night (26.1%) (P<0.001), and between weekdays (37.2%) and weekends (53.5%) (P=0.002). When responders arrived before Emergency Medical Services, there was no difference of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation between daytime, evening, and nighttime (P=0.75 and P=0.22, respectively) or between weekend and weekdays (P=0.29 and P=0.12, respectively). Conclusions Citizen responders were more likely to accept OHCA alarms during evening and weekends, with the highest proportion of responders arriving before Emergency Medical Services in the evening. However, there was no significant difference in delivering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or early defibrillation among cases where citizen responders arrived before Emergency Medical Services. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03835403.

The aim of this study was to provide information about immunity against COVID-19 along with risk factors and behavior among employees in day care facilities and preschools (DCS) in Denmark. In collaboration with the Danish Union of Pedagogues, during February and March 2021, 47,810 members were offered a point-of-care rapid SARS-CoV-2 antibody test (POCT) at work and were invited to fill in an electronic questionnaire covering COVID-19 exposure. Seroprevalence data from Danish blood donors (total Ig enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) were used as a proxy for the Danish population. A total of 21,018 (45%) DCS employees completed the questionnaire and reported their POCT result {median age, 44.3 years (interquartile range [IQR], [32.7 to 53.6]); females, 84.1%}, of which 20,267 (96.4%) were unvaccinated and included in analysis. A total of 1,857 (9.2%) participants tested seropositive, significantly higher than a seroprevalence at 7.6% (risk ratio [RR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 1.27) among 40,541 healthy blood donors (median age, 42 years [IQR, 28 to 53]; males, 51.3%). Exposure at work (RR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.3 to 3.6) was less of a risk factor than exposure within the household (RR, 12.7; 95% CI, 10.2 to 15.8). Less than 25% of participants reported wearing face protection at work. Most of the participants expressed some degree of fear of contracting COVID-19 both at work and outside work. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was slightly higher in DCS staff than in blood donors, but possible exposure at home was associated with a higher risk than at work. DCS staff expressed fear of contracting COVID-19, though there was limited use of face protection at work. IMPORTANCE Identifying at-risk groups and evaluating preventive interventions in at-risk groups is imperative for the ongoing pandemic as well as for the control of future epidemics. Although DCS staff have a much higher risk of being infected within their own household than at their workplace, most are fearful of being infected with COVID-19 or bringing COVID-19 to work. This represents an interesting dilemma and an important issue which should be addressed by public health authorities for risk communication and pandemic planning. This study design can be used in a strategy for ongoing surveillance of COVID-19 immunity or other infections in the population. The findings of this study can be used to assess the need for future preventive interventions in DCS, such as the use of personal protective equipment.

Active disease during conception and pregnancy in women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk of pregnancy complications and adverse neonatal outcomes. The use of IBD treatments during pregnancy should be weighed against their adverse effects on the neonate, but longer-term safety data and data on serious infection rates and malignancies postnatally are lacking, particularly for newer drugs, such as tofacitinib, vedolizumab and ustekinumab.

Background Little is known about the psychological risks of dispatched citizen responders who have participated in resuscitation attempts. Methods and Results A cross-sectional survey study was performed with 102 citizen responders who participated in a resuscitation attempt from July 23, 2018, to August 22, 2018, in the Capital Region of Denmark. Psychological distress, defined as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, was assessed 3 weeks after the resuscitation attempt and measured with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale. Individual differences were assessed as the personality traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience with the Big Five Inventory, general self-efficacy, and coping mechanisms (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory). Associations between continuous variables were examined with the Pearson correlation. The associations between psychological distress levels and contextual factors and individual differences were analyzed in multivariable linear regression models to determine factors independently associated with psychological distress levels. The mean overall posttraumatic stress disorder score was 0.65 of 12; the mean perceived stress score was 7.61 of 40. The most common coping mechanisms were acceptance and emotional support. Low perceived stress was significantly associated with high general self-efficacy, and high perceived stress was significantly associated with high scores on neuroticism and openness to experience. Non-healthcare professionals were less likely to report symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions Citizen responders who participated in resuscitation reported low levels of psychological distress. Individual differences were significantly associated with levels of psychological distress and should be considered when engaging citizen responders in resuscitation.

Background Citizen responder programs are implemented worldwide to dispatch volunteer citizens to participate in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation. However, the risk of injuries in relation to activation is largely unknown. We aimed to assess the risk of physical injury for dispatched citizen responders. Methods and Results Since September 2017, citizen responders have been activated through a smartphone application when located close to a suspected cardiac arrest in the Capital Region of Denmark. A survey was sent to all activated citizen responders, including a specific question about risk of acquiring an injury during activation. We included all surveys from September 1, 2017, to May 15, 2020. From May 15, 2019, to May 15, 2020, we followed up on all survey nonresponders by phone call, e-mail, or text messages to examine if nonresponders were at higher risk of severe or fatal injuries. In 1665 suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, 9574 citizen responders were dispatched and 76.6% (7334) answered the question regarding physical injury. No injury was reported by 99.3% (7281) of the responders. Being at risk of physical injury was reported by 0.3% (24), whereas 0.4% (26) reported an injury (25 minor injuries and 1 severe injury [ankle fracture]). When following up on nonresponders (2472), we reached 99.1% (2449). No one reported acquired injuries, and only 1 reported being at risk of injury. Conclusions We found low risk of physical injury reported by volunteer citizen responders dispatched to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Risk of injury should be considered and monitored as a safety measure in citizen responder programs.

Young children often fall ill, leading to concern among their caregivers and urgent contact with health care services.

In Denmark, multiple national initiatives have been associated with improved bystander defibrillation and survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in public places. However, OHCAs in residential neighbourhoods continue to have poor outcomes. The Cardiac Arrest in Residential Areas with MoBile volunteer responder Activation trial aims to improve bystander defibrillation and survival following OHCA in residential neighbourhoods with a high risk of OHCA. The intervention consists of: (1) strategically deployed automated external defibrillators accessible at all hours, (2) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training of residents and (3) recruitment of residents for a volunteer responder programme.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation engages in a continuous review of new, peer-reviewed, published cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid science. Draft Consensus on Science With Treatment Recommendations are posted online throughout the year, and this annual summary provides more concise versions of the final Consensus on Science With Treatment Recommendations from all task forces for the year. Topics addressed by systematic reviews this year include resuscitation of cardiac arrest from drowning, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for adults and children, calcium during cardiac arrest, double sequential defibrillation, neuroprognostication after cardiac arrest for adults and children, maintaining normal temperature after preterm birth, heart rate monitoring methods for diagnostics in neonates, detection of exhaled carbon dioxide in neonates, family presence during resuscitation of adults, and a stepwise approach to resuscitation skills training. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the quality of the evidence, using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence-to-Decision Framework Highlights sections. In addition, the task forces list priority knowledge gaps for further research. Additional topics are addressed with scoping reviews and evidence updates.

Dispatched citizen responders are increasingly involved in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) resuscitation which can lead to severe stress. It is unknown which psychological assessment tools are most appropriate to evaluate psychological distress in this population. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate existing assessment tools used to measure psychological distress with emphasis on citizen responders who attempted resuscitation.

Challenges remain and there are still a sufficient number of cases with epidemiological, clinical features and radiological data suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonia that persist negative in their RT-PCR results. The aim of the study was to define the distinguishing characteristics between patients developing a serological response to SARS-CoV-2 and those who did not.

Most cardiac arrest survivors are classified with mild to moderate cognitive impairment; roughly, 50% experience long-term neurocognitive impairment. Postarrest challenges complicate participation in society and are associated with social issues such as failure to resume social activities and impaired return to work. The effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors are sparsely described, but the body of evidence describes high probabilities of survivors not returning to work, returning to jobs with modified job descriptions, returning to part-time employment, and often in combination with extensive unmet rehabilitation needs. Hence, there is a need to develop and test a pragmatic individual targeted intervention to facilitate return to work (RTW) in survivors of OHCA. The overall aim of the ROCK trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive individually tailored multidisciplinary rehabilitation intervention for survivors of OHCA on RTW compared to usual care.

The aims of the present study were to assess antiplatelet drug use patterns after a first myocardial infarction (MI) and to evaluate the determinants of antiplatelet nonpersistence.

A systematic review to determine if cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guided by either real-time or post-event feedback could improve CPR quality or patient outcome compared to unguided CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Opioid use has substantially increased in the last decade and is associated with overdose mortality, but also with increased mortality from cardiovascular causes. This finding may partly reflect an association between opioids and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Therefore, we aimed to investigate OHCA-risk of opioids in the community.

Patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have a high morbidity and mortality risk and often develop post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) involving systemic inflammation. The severity of the inflammatory response is associated with adverse outcome, with anoxic irreversible brain injury as the leading cause of death following resuscitated OHCA. The study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect of pre-hospital administration of a high-dose glucocorticoid following OHCA.

To investigate the association between the arrival of smartphone-activated volunteer responders before the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and bystander defibrillation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) at home and public locations.