Study: Covid-19 patients have higher risk of dying after cardiac arrest

According to the study, the overall risk of dying after an IHCA more than doubled. It was increased by a half in men and more than nine-fold in women, the study found. The researchers also found a 2.7-fold increase in the proportion of OHCAs caused by breathing problems and an 8.6 per cent increase in compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the pandemic.

The percentage of people who were treated with both chest compression as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation fell from 33 per cent pre-pandemic to 23 per cent during the pandemic, they said. In March the European Resuscitation Council and the Swedish Resuscitation Council issued guidelines recommending that bystanders who see a cardiac arrest should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and concentrate on chest compressions in the case of suspected Covid-19 infection.

"Although previous studies have indicated that compression-only CPR delivered by bystanders may be as effective as compressions and ventilation combined, this may not apply to cases with Covid-19, since they are primarily suffering from respiratory failure," said senior author of the study, Araz Rawshani, physician and researcher at the University of Gothenburg. "We believe this is an important finding that could possibly help authorities in handling the pandemic," Rawshani added.

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