An observational study of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests reported in Indian print media

Background: Newspapers in India often report incidents of cardiac arrest. Media reports are a source for raising awareness of cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) among the public. This study is aimed at evaluating the reports of cardiac arrest published in Indian newspapers. Materials and Methods: This is an observational study of cardiac arrests reported in Indian newspapers between January 2001 and June 2019. The study included reports containing the word "cardiac arrest" referring to a cardiac arrest event in India. Data of demographics, location, time, clinical characteristics, performance of CPR, and survival using the Utstein template were extracted from the newspapers. Reports of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) were selected for analysis. Results: One thousand seven hundred seventy-nine reports of cardiac arrest were reviewed and 1703 reports were selected after excluding 76. Of these, 279 reports did not specify whether it was an in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) or OHCA. Of the remaining 1424 reports, 377 reports were IHCA and 1047 were OHCA. One thousand forty-seven OHCA cases were selected for analysis. The study noted male preponderance and a median age of 51-60 years. OHCA commonly occurred in residential locations, followed by public buildings, other places, and street/highways. Prior risk factors, heart disease, and symptoms were reported in some reports. Of 15 subjects who received CPR, 11 were reported to have survived. Although demographic data are reported in the majority, there is poor reporting of clinical and resuscitation details. Conclusions: The study gives a glimpse of OHCA in India and emphasizes the need for elaborate reporting of data on cardiac arrest. The crucial role of media is recognized.