Research

Studies under PAROS CRN

Ongoing Research: International Study on Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA)

Background

Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCAs) are a global health concern. There is an urgent need to better understand the key factors that affect OHCA survival, and to develop methods to improve OHCA survival.

Objectives

This international study has the following objectives:

Understand OHCA as a disease in Asia
Describe current pre-hospital systems in the Asia-Pacific
Provide international benchmarking and study of best practices
Impact community awareness and change attitudes towards OHCA
Improve OHCA survival by system- / community-level interventions.

Methods

The Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS) Clinical Research Network (CRN) provides a user-friendly infrastructure to conduct patient-oriented, clinical, translational or service systems research in a high quality and cost-effective manner. The research group will conduct the first Pan-Asian descriptive study on Pre-hospital and Emergency Care (PEC) Systems to establish a system-wide comparison of resuscitation outcomes across the Asia-Pacific region. The research group will also conduct a National Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Outcomes Study in Singapore as part of a Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes comparative study. PAROS CRN’s data capture methods (available via direct entry online or export field entry) is closely modelled after that used in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), an initiative based in Atlanta, USA, and funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Update

A paper entitled “Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS): Rationale, Methodology and Implementation” can be found here.

Ongoing Research: Comparison of Emergency Medical Service Systems of Pan-Asian Countries

Background

The ability to save lives in pre-hospital setting is dependent on the ability to respond to the patients outside hospitals efficiently and effectively. With out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) and prehospital care fast becoming a global health concern, it is inevitable that the pressure on the EMS systems to respond and resuscitate patients will increase, especially in the light of an aging and growing population. As one of the youngest specialties, emergency medicine and EMS Systems has a relatively short history of development. Independent development and varied amounts of resource commitment across countries has led to variations among EMS systems. Yet, there is no knowing how similar or dissimilar EMS systems in the Asia-Pacific region are and, more fundamentally, whether systemic characteristics can have an impact on resuscitation outcomes.

Spearheaded by Dr Sang Do Shin from Seoul (Co- Chair of PAROS), there is now a concerted effort to characterize the EMS systems in Asia-Pacific region. Information drawn from this study can then be used as the baseline characteristics for future studies involving the region.

Methods

A survey in the form of a questionnaire will be conducted across the Network. The variables can be found here.

Update

The paper has been submitted and accepted by Prehospital Emergency Care.

Upcoming Research

Updates on the following studies will be provided when available.

Factors Affecting Neurologic Outcomes of OHCA Patients with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention,
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems – “End-of-Life” Issues,
EMS Education and Training,
Survey on the EMS System Performance Index,
Adherence of Therapeutic Hypothermia / Early Goal-Directed Therapy (EGDT),
Paediatric OHCA Study,
Incidence of Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) in Asian OHCA,
Regional Variation in Outcomes of Witnessed VF in Asia,
Impact of Supraglottic Airways and Endotracheal Intubation on Outcomes Following OHCA,
Classify Urban/Suburban/Rural Sites for OHCA Research across PAROS Countries,
Re-exploration of EMS Response Time to the Survival of OHCAs in Asia,
Does Advanced Airway Benefit the EMT-Resucitated OHCAs?
Non-Cardiac OHCAs in PAROS,
Outcomes from Manual vs Mechanical Chest Compressions at the Emergency Department Setting for OHCA - A Pan-Asian Perspective (A systematic review published at the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine can be found here,
Asia EMS Survey on Ambulance Design and Safety Specifications