A quantitative assessment of the contribution of "citizen First Responder" in the adult out-of-hospital chain of survival during COVID-19 pandemic

A decrease in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) bystander response was observed worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1. Therefore, the importance of first responders (FRs) in initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automatic external defibrillator (AED) use has increased. FRs are police officers, firefighters (named as “professional FRs”), or off-duty medical personnel and trained laypersons (named “citizen FRs”); they are alerted if a patient experiences OHCA within close vicinity. 2. During pandemic, scientific societies stressed the importance of donning personal protective equipment (PPE) before intervening 3. ; furthermore some FRs system were temporarily suspended or limited to “professional FRs”. 2. Also in Swiss Canton Ticino only the activation “professional FRs” activity was maintained. This situation provides the unique opportunity to quantitatively assess the contribution of “citizen FRs” in OHCA resuscitation including AED use before EMS arrival