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Title: Is the transport of children undergoing active CPR associated with a survival benefit compared to resuscitating on scene and transporting after ROSC?

Category: EMS

Keywords: CPR, on scene time, TOR, termination of resuscitation (PubMed Search)

Posted: 1/15/2025 by Jenny Guyther, MD (Updated: 3/3/2026)

Previous studies have shown that an on scene time of 10-35 minutes was associated with improved survival in pediatric out of hospital cardiac arrests compared to an on scene time of > 35 minutes.  There was no significant difference in overall survival between < 10 minutes and 10-35 minutes of on scene time.

This study involved a total of 2854 pediatric cardiac arrests in the US and Canada.  The patients who had a cardiac arrest during transport were compared to patients who received on scene CPR by equal minutes.

Among patients < 1 year, intra-arrest transport was associated with lower survival to hospital discharge compared to those that were resuscitated on scene.  There was no association for patients > 1 year.

Bottom line: This study supports resuscitating in place for pediatric cardiac arrests, especially in patients < 1year.

References

Okubo M, Komukai S, Izawa J, et al. Survival After Intra-Arrest Transport vs On-Scene Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Children. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(5):e2411641. Published 2024 May 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.11641