Impact of advanced cardiac life support-skilled paramedics on survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a statewide emergency medical service

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Prehospital research has found little evidence in support of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, these studies generally examine city-based emergency medical services (EMS) systems. The training and experience of ACLS-skilled paramedics differs internationally, and this may also contribute to negative findings. Additionally, the frequency of negative outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest suggests that it is difficult to establish sufficient numbers to detect an effect. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of ACLS on cardiac arrest in Queensland, Australia. Queensland has a population of 3.8 million and an area of over 1.7 million km2, a..