For Patients & Families

During the cardiac arrest resuscitation, you (or your family member) were included in our research study called the EpiDOSE trial. At that time paramedics gave either a standard dose or a lower dose of epinephrine and collected your data under a waiver of consent (without your permission) from ambulance and hospital records. We could not ask for your permission as you were unconscious and not breathing during cardiac arrest.

What information are you collecting about me or my family member?

  1. Basic information about you including your age and sex
  2. Information surrounding the cardiac arrest such as whether or not it was seen by someone, who performed CPR, how many defibrillator shocks were given and what other drugs may have been used during treatment
  3. Hospital information such as the unit of admission, length of stay and type of location you were discharged to (e.g. home or other care centre)
  4. Post-discharge information such as re-hospitalizations and procedures

Received a letter or a bracelet about EpiDOSE?

If the cardiac arrest event happened in Ontario, you may have received a letter and/or a bracelet. These are to notify you of the study and provide more information about it.

Did not receive a letter?

There is a small chance you or your family member may not have received a letter or bracelet. You can find a copy of the letter here (link to finalized general letter). Please contact us at epidose@unityhealth.to or 416-884-6060 ext. 46787 for any questions or concerns. We aim to respond within 24 hours.
Note: Not everyone enrolled in EpiDOSE will receive a letter and bracelet. Different documents may be given depending on the province where the cardiac arrest event took place. All study notifications are at the discretion of local research ethics boards guidelines.

I am a survivor and I received a second letter or a consent form, why?

All survivors will be invited to participate in a telephone interview in the months following your hospital discharge. Our interview will ask a series of questions to measure quality of life and neurological status after your cardiac arrest. We estimate that the interview will take about 15 minutes to complete. If you wish to review these questionnaires beforehand, please visit here.

During the interview, there may be questions that make you feel uncomfortable or that you do not wish you answer. You may refuse to answer the questions or end the interview at any time if you experience discomfort.

How do I withdraw from this study?

If you no longer wish to be contacted and wish to withdraw (either yourself or on behalf of your family member) you may do so by calling 416-884-6060 ext. 46787 and providing your full name. Withdrawing from the study will not affect the care you or your family member currently receive or will receive in the future.

How many participants will be enrolled?

It is anticipated that ~3800 people across Canada (British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan) will be included in this study. The entire study is expected to take about 5 years to complete.

What are the risks of being involved in this study?

Epinephrine is a standard drug used in cardiac arrest. Patient safety is our top priority and is carefully monitored and recorded for any complications of study treatments. There are no anticipated additional risks in the low dose group compared to the standard dose group.

What are the benefits of this study?

You may or may not receive any direct benefits from being in this study. However, results from this study could further medical or scientific knowledge in the area of cardiac arrest research and help those who may suffer a cardiac arrest in the future.

How is my personal data kept private and secure?

The research team only collects information they need for this study. All patient data that is entered into the EpiDOSE database is de-identified. This means that all of your personal health identifiers have been removed from the data so that you cannot be identified personally. All research staff have been properly trained in Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2), Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Health Canada Division 5 – Drugs for Clinical Trials Involving Human Subjects, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and signed confidentiality agreements.

If the results of this study are published, your identity will remain confidential. It is expected that the information collected during this study will be used in analyses and will be published/presented to the scientific community at meetings and in journals.