Cardiopulmonary resuscitation by law enforcement agents in Spain: lessons from a mixed methods case study

Submitted: 20 March 2023
Accepted: 9 May 2023
Published: 23 June 2023
Abstract Views: 584
PDF: 227
Supplementary Materials: 108
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Much of the law enforcement work takes place close to the public, often arriving at the scene before medical services in the case of victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. If properly trained, these early care procedures can be powerful mechanisms to improve survival. This paper describes a case of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest assisted by law enforcement officers on the public highway in Asturias-Spain. In addition, a qualitative study was carried out to learn about the experience of the officers during the intervention, their willingness to act in similar emergencies, as well as to gather information about their training and knowledge of basic life support. The case was successfully resolved; however, some errors in the spontaneous execution of the chain of survival and the officers’ statements prompted some recommendations for the mobilization, training and staffing of law enforcement agencies in Spain.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Perkins GD, Handley AJ, Koster RW, et al. Adult basic life support and automated external defibrillation section Collaborators. European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2015: Section 2. Adult basic life support and automated external defibrillation. Resuscitation 2015;95:81-99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2015.07.015
Gräsner J T, Wnent J, Herlitz J, et al. Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Europe-Results of the EuReCa TWO study. Resuscitation 2020;148:218-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2019.12.042
Odom E, Nakajima Y, Vellano K, et al. Trends in EMS-attended out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival, United States 2015-2019. Resuscitation 2022;179:88-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2022.08.003
Ruiz-Azpiazu JI, Daponte-Codina A, Fernández Del Valle P, et al. Variabilidad regional en incidencia, características generales y resultados finales de la parada cardiaca extrahospitalaria en España: Registro OHSCAR. Emergencias 2021;33:15-22.
Rosell-Ortiz F, Escalada-Roig X, Fernández del Valle P, et al. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) attended by mobile emergency teams with a physician on board. Results of the Spanish OHCA Registry (OSHCAR). Resuscitation 2017;113:90-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2017.01.029
Salhi RA, Hammond S, Lehrich JL, et al; CARES Surveillance Group. The association of fire or police first responder initiated interventions with out of hospital cardiac arrest survival. Resuscitation 2022;174:9-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2022.02.026
Gobierno de España. Orden PRE/1478/2006, de 5 de mayo, por la que se aprueba el plan de estudios de la enseñanza de formación para la incorporación a la escala de Cabos y Guardias del Cuerpo de la Guardia Civil. Boletín Oficial del Estado 2006;116:18761-7.
Carcedo Argüelles L, Pérez Regueiro I, García Fernández JA, Lana A. Formación y conocimientos sobre soporte vital básico de la Guardia Civil. Rev Esp Salud Pública 2021;94:e202104069.
Angulo-Menéndez P, Lana A, Morís de la Tassa J. Conocimientos y disposición para realizar soporte vital básico por agentes de la policía local. Anales Sis San Navarra 2017;40:177-86.
Márquez-Hernández VV, Gutiérrez-Puertas L, Garrido-Molina JM, et al. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Using a Novel Method. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18:9536. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189536
Hasselqvist-Ax I, Nordberg P, Svensson L, et al. Experiences among firefighters and police officers of responding to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a dual dispatch programme in Sweden: an interview study. BMJ Open 2019;9:e030895. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030895
Sasson C, Rogers MAM, Dahl J, Kellermann AL. Predictors of survival from out-of hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2010;3:63–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.109.889576
Hasselqvist-Ax I, Nordberg P, Herlitz J, et al. Dispatch of Firefighters and Police Officers in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Trial Using Propensity Score Analysis. J Am Heart Assoc 2017;6:e005873. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.005873
Becker L, Husain S, Kudenchuk P, et al. Treatment of cardiac arrest with rapid defibrillation by police in King County, Washington. Prehosp Emerg Care 2014;18:22-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/10903127.2013.825353
Jaskiewicz F, Kowalewski D, Kaniecka E, et al. Factors Influencing Self-Confidence and Willingness to Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation among Working Adults-A Quasi-Experimental Study in a Training Environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19:8334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148334
Escalada X, Sánchez P, Hernández R, et al. Prehospital emergency services in Catalonia: the SEPHCAT analysis. Emergencias 2020;32:90-6.
Castillo García J, Cerdà Vila M, de Balanzó Fernández X, et al. Standard basic life support training of the European Resuscitation Council versus blended training: a randomized trial of a new teaching method. Emergencias 2020;32:45-8.
Lapostolle F, Freund Y. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: the long road to equitable emergency care access to resuscitation. Emergencias 2021;33:5-6.
Husain S, Eisenberg M. Police AED programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Resuscitation 2013;84:1184-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2013.03.040
Luque-Hernández MJ, Muñoz-Álvarez E, Vierna-de Grosso A, et al. Características de la fibrilación ventricular refractaria extrahospitalaria y uso de la doble desfibrilación secuencial. Emergencias 2020;32:295-7.

How to Cite

Pérez-Regueiro, I., Carcedo-Argüelles, L., Fernández Fernández, E., García Fernández, J. A., & Lana, A. (2023). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation by law enforcement agents in Spain: lessons from a mixed methods case study. Emergency Care Journal, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2023.11326