Utstein guidelines definitions

Question 1

Define witnessed arrest

Answer 1

A witnessed cardiac arrest is one that is seen or heard by another person or an arrest that is monitored.

Question 2

Define assisted ventilation

Answer 2

The act of inflating a patient’s lungs by rescue breathing with or without a bag-mask device or any other mechanical device.

Question 3

Define attempted defibrillation

Answer 3

Defibrillation can be attempted by means of an automated external defibrillator (AED), a semiautomated external defibrillator, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), or a manual defibrillator.

Question 4

Define bystander CPR

Answer 4

CPR performed by a person who is not responding as part of an organized emergency response system approach to a cardiac arrest. Physicians, nurses, and paramedics may be described as performing bystander CPR if they are not part of the emergency response system involved in the victim’s resuscitation.

Question 5

Define cardiac arrest

Answer 5

The cessation of cardiac mechanical activity as confirmed by the absence of signs of circulation.

Question 6

Define CPR

Answer 6

An attempt to restore spontaneous circulation by performing chest compressions with or without ventilations

Question 7

Define date of arrest

Answer 7

The date the event was known to occur or the date on which a patient was found.

Question 8

Define end of event

Answer 8

A resuscitation event is deemed to have ended when death is declared or spontaneous circulation is restored and sustained for 20 minutes or longer. If extracorporeal life support is being provided, then the end of event is 20 minutes after extracorporeal circulation has been established.

Question 9

Define neurological outcome

Answer 9

A simple validated neurological score such as the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) should be recorded.

Question 10

Define resuscitation

Answer 10

A resuscitation attempt is defined as the act of attempting to maintain or restore life by establishing or maintaining airway (or both), breathing, and circulation through CPR, defibrillation, and other related emergency care techniques.

Question 11

Define ROSC

Answer 11

ROSC is defined for all rhythms as the restoration of a spontaneous perfusing rhythm that results in more than an occasional gasp, fleeting palpated pulse, or arterial waveform.

Question 12

Define survived event

Answer 12

• For prehospital: sustained ROSC with spontaneous circulation until admission and transfer of care to the medical staff at the receiving hospital.
• For the in-hospital setting, survived event means sustained ROSC for >20 minutes (or the return of circulation if extracorporeal circulatory support is applied).

Question 13

Define survival to discharge

Answer 13

The patient is discharged from the hospital’s acute care unit regardless of neurological status, outcome, or destination.

Question 14

Define sustained ROSC

Answer 14

Chest compressions are not required for 20 consecutive minutes and signs of circulation persist (or sustained ROSC if extracorporeal circulatory support is applied). (Same as survived event.)

Question 15

CORE elements for recording of a CA?

Answer 15

Location of arrest, arrest witnessed/monitored, CPR before EMS arrival, aetiology, first monitored rhythm, outcome.

Question 16

CORE times for recording during a CA?

Answer 16

Date of death, time of arrest, time when call received, time of first rhythm analysis, time of first CPR, time of first defib attempt.