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Can Correct Closed-Chest Compressions Be Performed During Prehospital Transport?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

C. Keith Stone  and
Stephen H. Thomas
C. Keith Stone*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, East CarolinaUniversity School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina
Stephen H. Thomas
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, East CarolinaUniversity School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina
*
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536USA
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Abstract

Introduction:

The resuscitation rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is low. There are many factors to be considered as contributing to this phenomenon. One factor not previously considered is the impact of a moving ambulance environment on the ability to perform closed-chest compressions.

Hypothesis:

Proper closed-chest compressions can be performed in a moving ambulance.

Methods:

A cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training mannequin with an attached skill meter (Skillmeter ResusciAnnie®, Laerdal, Armonk, N. Y., USA) that measures each chest compression for proper depth and hand placement was used. Ten emergency medical technician-basic (EMT-B) certified prehospital providers were assigned into one of five teams. Each team performed a total of four sessions of five minutes of continuous closed-chest compressions on the mannequin. Two sessions were done by each team: one in the control environment with the mannequin placed on the floor, and the other in the experimental environment with the mannequin placed in the back of a moving ambulance. The ambulance was operated without warning lights and siren, and all traffic rules were obeyed. The percentage of correct closed-chest compressions was recorded for each session, and the mean values were compared using Student's t-test with alpha set at 0.01 for statistical significance.

Results:

Ten sessions of compressions were done in both environments. The mean percentage of correct compressions was 77.6 ±15.6 for the control group and 45.6 ±18.3 for the ambulance group (p = 0.0005).

Conclusion:

A moving ambulance environment appears to impair the ability to perform closed-chest compressions.

Keywords

ambulancechest compressionsCPRemergency medical servicesmannequinprehospitaltransporttransportation of patients
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 121 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1995

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Footnotes

*

Presented at the National Association of EMS Physicians Annual Meeting, 11 June 1993, Minneapolis, Minnesota

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