ArticleOpen heart2025
Cost-effectiveness of a community first responder system for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Belgium.
Article in Open heart, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Barriers and facilitators while implementing community first responder systems in a western setting: mixed-methods expert consensus.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Review
- Cost-Effectiveness of a Community First Responder System for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Poland.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health challenge across Europe, with a survival rate of only 8.5% to hospital discharge. Implementing a community first responder (CFR) system, including earlier Basic Life Support and defibrillation, can enhance survival rates and neurological outcomes. This study assesses the cost-effectiveness of two scenarios for implementing such a system in Belgium.
methodsA decision tree and the long-term Markov model were used to evaluate cost-effectiveness by comparing two scenarios with current care standards. Scenario 1 involved an awareness campaign on OHCA, while Scenario 2 included implementing a CFR system with automated external defibrillator (AED) integration, dispatch centre linkage and training for citizen responders. The analysis covered survival to the emergency department, hospital, discharge and neurologically intact survival, with sensitivity analyses to test robustness.
resultsThe awareness campaign and implementation of the CFR system resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €14,976 and €16,442 per quality-adjusted life year gained for scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. Both scenarios showed improvements in survival rates at various stages, including hospital discharge and neurologically intact survival.
conclusionThis study highlights the benefits of enhancing Belgium's CFR for OHCA patients. It suggests that accessible AEDs, trained CFRs and an integrated emergency response system could improve survival rates and quality of life. These findings can guide policy and resource decisions, potentially improving the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of OHCA emergency services. Additionally, this approach could serve as a model for other regions aiming to strengthen their response to time-sensitive emergencies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.