[The Swedish Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - improvement through measurement]

Abstract

The Swedish Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation started in 1990 and records the vast majority of resuscitation attempts in Sweden. The registry aims to monitor and improve the links in the chain of survival. The registry charts critical events at the time of resuscitation as well as the subsequent follow-up of initial survivors concerning their ongoing treatment, long-term survival, and quality of life. Several quality indicators that involve the delay time to treatment and survival have demonstrated improvements in the treatment and outcomes since the start of the registry. Data from the registry are being used to enable the improvement through measurement principle. A doubling in survival is noted for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, despite an increased ambulance response time and a diminishing prevalence of cardiac etiology, resulting in a decreased incidence of ventricular fibrillation as the first recorded rhythm among these victims. These factors may underestimate the true improvement of survival rates after cardiac arrest in Sweden.