The Effect of SPecialty cAre on Recovery From Cardiac Arrest Trial (the SPARC Trial)
This randomized clinical trial will determine if adult participants who are in the emergency department after being resuscitated from a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital benefit from care delivered at specialized centers. The main question that it will answer is whether transferring participants to a hospital with a specialized cardiac arrest service improves recovery of function after 90 days. Participants will receive all usual medical care, but some participants will be offered transfer to a regional cardiac arrest center and others will be offered care at the closest appropriate hospital. Investigators will interview participants after 90 days to assess their recovery.
• Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
• Resuscitated from cardiac arrest with palpable pulse in the emergency department
• Treated at one of participating hospital emergency departments
• Age ≥18 years