Letter by Peran et al Regarding Article, "Public Perceptions on Why Women Receive Less Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Than Men in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest"
Abstract
We read with interest the article by Perman et al (2019).1 This article considers the claim that women receive less bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) than men. It is interesting how the approach to CPR in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests differs around the world.
We also analyzed differences in bystander CPR, in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. A total of 2302 patients were included, 1715 men (M group) and 587 women (W group).
Bystander CPR was provided in 1368 (79%) cases in M group and in 477 (81%) cases in W group. The difference between the M and W groups was not significant (P=0.31).2 We found no gender variation in the chances of a cardiac arrest victim to receive bystander CPR.
This finding contradicts the results published by A. Blewer in the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in November 2017, which reported that men were more likely to receive CPR in public than women.3 This new article also examines the possible reasons for this, although these cannot be generalized to countries other than the United States.
One possible explanation why the results are different in Prague is the systematic approach by the emergency medical services Prague dispatchers to provide dispatcher-assisted resuscitation, which can break potential barriers between bystander and cardiac arrest victim. More research is needed to determine the real reasons for this phenomenon in different countries.