Drennan IR, Geri G, Brooks S, et al. - In cardiac arrest management, prompt and accurate identification of cardiac arrest by emergency medical dispatchers at the time of the emergency call is a critical early step allowing for initiation of dispatcher-assisted bystander CPR and suitable and timely emergency response. Researchers here examined dispatcher identification of cardiac arrest as well as determined call characteristics that may influence their ability to identify cardiac arrest at the time of emergency call. Screening 2,520 article titles, they identified 47 studies for inclusion in this review. Meta-analyses could not be done because of significant heterogeneity between studies with a high risk of bias in 18 of the 47. Per findings, dispatch centers varied in the sensitivity and specificity of cardiac arrest recognition at the time of emergency call and they did not appear to differ by dispatch algorithm/criteria used or education of the dispatcher, although comparisons were hampered by heterogeneity across studies.