Background Previous results for survival after out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have indicated poor survival in Scotland. This has led a broad coalition of stakeholders to develop the Scottish OHCA strategy. This data linkage project will inform the strategy and provide insight into both short- and long-term survival. Furthermore, the results will provide a baseline for monitoring the effect of strategy implementation. Methods All OHCA cases between 2011-2015 where resuscitation was attempted were identified from Scottish Ambulance Service data. The eDRIS team linked the OHCA cases to a range of administrative datasets based on Community Health Index (CHI) number where available or probabilistic linkage based on demographics and date of OHCA where CHI was absent. The data was stored and accessed through a Safe Haven. Brief results Around 3.000 OHCA cases per year were identified with around 6.2% survival to hospital discharge. Of all cases 73.2% could be linked with other datasets such as the Unscheduled Care Datamart, hospital data (SMR01 and intensive care data), deaths data and SPARRA (comorbidities). This resulted in a rich dataset including a range of demographics, survival and clinical performance measures. Logistic regression models show that a higher age, male gender and living in a social deprived area are associated with a higher risk of an OHCA. Higher age and living in a rural or socially deprived area are associated with an increased mortality risk. Public benefit The results of this data linkage are setting the scene for OHCA incidence and survival in Scotland. As this data linkage approach will provide insight in crucial elements of the 'Chain of survival', the results offer the opportunity to improve care delivery and survival after OHCA.
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