CONGRESS ABSTRACT

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a public health problem that affects approximately 800,000 people each year in Europe and the United States. Despite technological advances and organizational efforts, survival remains extremely low, still below 10%. The establishment of structured multicenter registries represents a fundamental tool for identifying the most effective interventions to improve survival. Building on the experience gained with the Progetto Vita Registry of Piacenza, we submitted the LIFE study to the Ethics Committee and obtained approval. The LIFE study is a prospective, observational, multicenter regional study promoted by ANMCO Emilia-Romagna, involving all provincial Cardiology Units in Emilia-Romagna, with the aim of subsequently extending the model to Italian provinces willing to participate. The primary objective of the LIFE Registry is to evaluate survival after OHCA across the entire Emilia-Romagna region, both in the acute phase and during mid- to long-term follow-up. For each patient, data related to the event, baseline clinical information, and follow-up data will be collected using a dedicated CRF. Data sources will include territorial emergency medical services (EMS/118), Emergency Departments and hospital wards, clinical documentation, and clinical and/or telephone follow-up contacts. Secondary objectives include evaluating survival in relation to the type of first response (bystanders, EMS/118, emergency forces), the use of automated external defibrillators available in the community, the use of the DAEResponder app for responder activation, the performance of resuscitation maneuvers, pre-hospital survival, survival of patients admitted alive to the Emergency Department, and survival at 30 days, 1, 3, and 5 years, as well as early and 30-day neurological outcomes (and, where available, mid- to long-term outcomes). Particular attention will be devoted to the analysis of intervention times in order to identify potential strategies to reduce delays along the chain of survival. The LIFE Registry represents the first region-wide registry in Italy specifically structured for OHCA. It complements existing multi-province but not yet regional experiences and constitutes an organizational model that may be extended at the national level, with the ultimate goal of analyzing outcomes in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and improving the governance of the emergency response system and patients’ clinical outcomes.