Do blacks get bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation as often as whites?

Abstract

To determine whether there is an association between the race of a victim of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the provision of bystander-initiated CPR. Record review of 1,068 consecutive cases of nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Memphis, Tennessee, a city of more than 600,000 with roughly equal numbers of white and black residents. Every adult who was seen by municipal emergency medical services personnel for nontraumatic cardiac arrest between March 1, 1989, and June 5, 1992. None. Although black and white cardiac arrest victims were similar in many respects, black victims received bystander CPR substantially less frequently than whites (9.8% versus 21.4%; odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.34 to 0.61). This difference was slightly more pronounced when the victim collapsed in a public place. In addition to race of the victim, location of the arrest outside the home and having the arrest witnessed were independent determinants of whether a victim was given bystander CPR. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the effect of race was independent of the other variables studied. Black victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest receive bystander CPR less frequently than white victims. Targeted training programs may be needed to improve the rates of bystander CPR among certain groups.