Impact of different medical direction policies on prehospital advanced airway management for out-of hospital cardiac arrest patients: A retrospective cohort study

Background: Although optimal prehospital airway management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains undetermined, no studies have compared different advanced airway management (AAM) policies adopted by two hospitals in charge of online medical direction by emergency physicians. We examined the impact of two different AAM policies on OHCA patient survival.
Methods: This observational cohort study included adult OHCA patients treated in Okayama City from 2013 to 2016. Patients were divided into two groups: the O group - those treated on odd days when a hospital with a policy favoring laryngeal tube ventilation (LT) supervised, and the E group - those treated on even days when the other hospital with a policy favoring endotracheal intubation (ETI) supervised. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess airway device effects. The primary outcome measure was seven-day survival.
Results: Of 2,406 eligible patients, 50.1% were in the O group and 49.9% were in the E group. O group patients received less ETI (1.0% vs. 12.0%) and more LT (53.3% vs. 43.0%) compared with E group patients. In univariate analysis, no differences were observed in seven-day survival (9.4% vs 10.1%). Multiple regression analysis revealed neither LT nor ETI had a significant independent effect on seven-day survival, considering bag-valve mask ventilation as a reference (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.54 to 1.13, OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.72, respectively).
Conclusion: Despite different advanced airway medical direction policies in a single city, there were no substantial impact on outcomes for OHCA patients.