This Japanese nationwide retrospective cohort compared rescue-breathing with compression-only bystander CPR in 154,137 patients with non-cardiac out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during 2012–2023. Rescue-breathing CPR was associated with modestly lower 30-day mortality (adjusted RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.98–0.99) and unfavorable neurological outcomes (adjusted RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99–0.99). However, no clear differences were observed among adult or elderly patients, while pediatric patients had lower risks of both outcomes. Associations were strongest in pediatric patients and drowning-related arrests, making the overall findings less directly informative for adult cardiac critical care.
The small overall associations favoring rescue-breathing CPR did not translate into clear differences in adult or elderly subgroups. These observational findings do not establish a causal benefit.
Study limitation: The cohort included pediatric patients; adult-specific effect estimates and uncertainty were not reported in the abstract, and residual confounding remains possible.
AI-generated from the published abstract with automated source checks. For research discovery; consult the original paper before applying findings.