Social Factors Could Affect Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Outcomes

A new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine suggests that the odds on whether a child survives a cardiac arrest may depend on where they live.

Doctor Mary Bernardin, an emergency pediatrics doctor and author of the study, says certain social factors are associated with lower odds of children receiving CPR or other life-saving measures.

Some of those factors include socio-economic or poverty status, education level and minority racial makeup. The study also identified acute traumatic events, such as firearm injuries, as being the most common causes of a pediatric cardiac arrest.

The study is the largest of its kind having analyzed over 21-thousand data entries across 54 states and territories in the United States.