Pediatric arrest cases intervened by ambulance service of the Ankara province (Ankara, 2017)

The out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence is 7.5–11.2/100,000 people/year. A multicenter study in North America found that the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was higher in children and adolescents than in adults. This study aimed to determine the status of ambulance service of Ankara province in terms of child arrest cases. A total of 415,874 cases were assigned an ambulance by the Provincial Ambulance Service between January 01, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Cases with R09 (respiratory arrest) and I46 (cardiac arrest) ICD-10 code were identified among these cases. Further, 1.3% of these cases had cardiac arrest (n = 5530). Cases aged less than 18 years (2.2%; n = 124) were included in the study. The final status of the detected cases was confirmed by asking the hospitals where they were transferred. Moreover, 62.9% (n = 78) of the cases were men, and 91.9% (n = 114) of the emergency calls were from urban areas. The age range distribution was as follows: 25.0% (n = 31) were 0 year old, 20.2% (n = 25) were 1 year old, and 10.5% (n = 13) were 17 years old. Also, 6.4% (n = 8) of the cases died at the scene. To complete the cardiopulmonary resuscitation chain, prehospital records should be strengthened and the effectiveness of the interventions should be monitored. Wider series results are needed to determine the standards for prehospital medical practices for pediatric arrest cases.