Association between direct transport to a cardiac arrest centre and survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A propensity-matched Aotearoa New Zealand study.

Background and Objectives: Direct transport to a cardiac arrest centre following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may be associated with higher survival. However, there is limited evidence available to support this within the New Zealand context. This study used a propensity score-matched cohort to investigate whether direct transport to a cardiac arrest centre improved survival in New Zealand. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Aotearoa New Zealand Paramedic Care Collection (ANZPaCC) database for adults treated for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of presumed cardiac aetiology between 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2023. Propensity score-matched analysis was used to investigate survival at 30-days post-event according to the receiving hospital being a cardiac arrest centre versus a non-cardiac arrest centre. Results: There were 2,297 OHCA patients included. Propensity matching resulted in 554 matched pairs ( Conclusions: This study found no statistically significant difference in outcomes for OHCA patients transferred to a cardiac arrest compared to a non-cardiac arrest centre. However, the odds ratio of 0.78, equivalent to a 22% decrease in 30-day mortality, is consistent with benefit associated with management by a cardiac arrest centre. Further research in larger cohorts with detailed information on known outcome predictors, or large randomised clinical trials are needed.