Pit Crew Approach to CPR has Higher Patient Survival Rates

The ResearchHopkins CL, Burk C, Moser S, et al. Implementation ofpit crew approach and cardiopulmonary resuscitation metrics for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest improves patient survival and neurological outcome. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5(1).The ScienceThis is a retrospective review of the impact of multiple changes to howSalt Lake City Fire Department EMS cared for cardiac arrest victims. Researchers examined the typical Utstein measures in two periods: from Sept. 1, 2008, to Sept. 1, 2011, and from Oct. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2014.In September 2011, the agency was trained in the delivery of high-quality CPR, which included the following:Clearly assigned roles for each rescuer;Minimal compression interruptions;Use of the ZOLL E-series monitor/defibrillator to provide audio and visual feedback to improve CPR quality;Passive oxygenation of witnessed cardiac arrest patients during the initial 6-8 minutes of CPR;Asynchronous ventilations with both bag-valve mask and advanced airway at rate of 10 per minute in all unwitnessed, pediatric and suspected respiratory arrests;Use of the ZOLL E-series' See-Thru CPR function, which filters out CPR artifacts created by chest compressions so that the rhythm may be interpreted while CPR is being performed vs. pausing CPR as the machine interprets the rhythm;No pulse checks until the appearance of a rhythm with a rate> 40 beats/minute and end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2)> 20 mmHg;Pre-charging of the defibrillator while chest compressions c...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Cardiac & Resuscitation Columns Source Type: news