To describe recent changes in medication preceding out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) where resuscitation was attempted.
OHCA victims were identified by the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Register and linked by means of their unique 10-digit personal identification numbers to the Prescribed Drug Register. We identified new claimed prescriptions during a 6-month period before the OHCA compared with those claimed in the period 12 to 18 months before. The 7-digit Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical codes of individual drugs were used. The study period was November 2007-January 2011.
OHCA victims with drugs were (1) older than those who did not claim any drugs in any period (70 ± 16 years vs. 54 ± 22 years, P