Would you like to be involved in a new Cardiac Arrest study?

Paramedics are being recruited to take part in the new PARAMEDIC-3 trial, which aims to find out if IO access first strategy compared with an IV access first strategy is clinically and cost effective.

Fully supported by the Resuscitation Council UK and Sponsored by Warwick University it is being delivered in partnership with nine other Ambulance Trusts – and you could be a part of it.

EEAST is collaborating with two hospital trusts in Essex and Suffolk. If you’re a paramedic who carries out regular frontline A&E duties working out of Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford, Basildon, and Southend, you’re eligible to take part.

Why is this trial being done, and why is it important to the NHS?

Current clinical guidelines recommend that cardiac arrest drugs are administered through the IV route, wherever possible. However, as we know, peripheral IV cannulation is very challenging during OHCA due to patient and environmental issues. Repeated attempts at IV cannulation delays time to drug administration. And, for every minute the drug is given earlier, improves outcome by 0.7% thus potentially saving 200 lives per year.

In cases where IV access cannot be rapidly achieved, clinical guidelines support the use of IO access. Previous research and data show that IO access is faster and more likely to be successful.

There is widespread interest in the use of intraosseous drug administration in cardiac arrest. In the UK, there is evidence of changing clinical practice. Data on file from the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes (OHCAO) registry show use of the IO route doubled over four-years (16% 2014 to 33% in 2018).

In view of ongoing uncertainty over which route provides the best outcome in terms of patient outcome and financial cost, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, whilst continuing to suggest an IV first strategy, has highlighted the urgent need for a randomised controlled trial to determine the most effective approach.

For further information or to express an interest in taking part, please contact Shona Brown, Research Paramedic: shona.brown@eastamb.nhs.uk

Thursday 5th May 2022