COVID-19 and Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Using U.S. Registry Database

Christopher Schmitt; Gary Beasley; Karine Guerrier; Jennifer Kramer; Maryam Y. Naim; Heather Griffis; Bryan McNally; Paul S. Chan; Rabab Al-Araji; Joseph Rossano

doi:10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100869

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COVID-19 and Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Using U.S. Registry Database

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

COVID-19 and Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Using U.S. Registry Database

Christopher Schmitt, Gary Beasley, Karine Guerrier, Jennifer Kramer, Maryam Y. Naim, Heather Griffis, Bryan McNally, Paul S. Chan, Rabab Al-Araji and Joseph Rossano

Resuscitation plus, Vol.22, 100869

03/2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100869

PMCID: PMC11803234

PMID: 39926360

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Abstract

Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) increased in the adult population during the COVID pandemic1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Objectives We aimed to determine if OHCAs increased in the pediatric population during the COVID pandemic and whether the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing racial and socio-economic disparities13,17,18,19,20. Methods Utilizing data from 2015-2020 from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) database, 13,513 pediatric OHCAs were analyzed. Age categories included infants (0-<1 year), children (1-12 years) and adolescents (13-18 years). This included information on patient demographics, use of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or AED (automatic external defibrillator), outcomes, COVID prevalence, and socioeconomic variables. Results In the pediatric population, there was no increase in OHCAs during the COVID pandemic, however in the adolescent population there was an increase in OHCA incidence from 0.29 to 0.40 arrests per 1 million total residents (p<0.0001), and a decrease in the infant population from 0.861 to 0.803 events per 1 million total residents (p=0.02). The pandemic worsened the burden of OHCAs in communities with lower socioeconomic status and in which COVID was more prevalent. Disparities of CPR or AED use and survival outcomes were seen based on race, sex, and socioeconomic factors, however none of these disparities were further augmented by the COVID pandemic. Conclusions Adolescent populations showed higher rates of OHCAs during the COVID pandemic, especially in areas with higher COVID incidence. Infants, however, had slightly decreased rates, which may be related to changes in other respiratory infections, and parental behavioral changes during the pandemic.

Coronavirus

Cardiac Arrest

Adolescent

Infant

Details

Title: Subtitle: COVID-19 and Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Using U.S. Registry Database
Creators: Christopher Schmitt - University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Gary Beasley - University of Iowa
Karine Guerrier - University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Jennifer Kramer - University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Maryam Y. Naim - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Heather Griffis - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Bryan McNally - Emory University School of Medicine
Paul S. Chan - Saint Luke's Health System
Rabab Al-Araji - Emory University
Joseph Rossano - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Resuscitation plus, Vol.22, 100869
DOI: 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100869
PMID: 39926360
PMCID: PMC11803234
NLM abbreviation: Resusc Plus
ISSN: 2666-5204
eISSN: 2666-5204
Publisher: ELSEVIER; AMSTERDAM
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 01/2025
Date published: 03/2025
Academic Unit: Cardiology; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics
Record Identifier: 9984774250502771

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