What Is ROC?
The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) was created to learn which treatments work when people have a cardiac arrest or severe injury. The ROC consists of ten sites and a coordinating center. The ROC investigators work with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems and local hospitals at each site to do these studies. Treatments studied include promising resuscitation drugs, tools and techniques.
The ROC Investigators do studies in which people who qualify receive either the currently accepted treatment or a new treatment assigned by chance (that is, in a manner like a coin toss). The trials are designed to test promising new treatments so that EMS providers can use those treatments most likely to benefit the public.
Further Information:
Recently Closed Study
ROC PRIMED
(Prehospital Resuscitation using an IMpedance valve and Early vs Delayed analysis)
Note: This study was closed on November 6, 2009.For more information, please read the official OHSU press release.
Cardiac arrest is the sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. Death usually occurs within minutes unless cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), rapid defibrillation, and paramedic interventions are available. CPR consists of pumping on the patient's chest and delivering breaths to produce some circulation until the heart can be restarted. When the chest is compressed, oxygen-rich blood is pumped forward. When the chest is released, oxygen-poor blood is brought back to the heart and lungs where it can be restored with oxygen before being pushed out to the body with another compression. Both actions -- pushing oxygen-rich blood forward and bringing oxygen-poor blood back to the heart and lungs -- are important. CPR however produces only about 30% of normal circulation. Methods to improve the circulation produced by CPR may lead to better survival.
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