J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2022 Apr;33(2):149-155.

How much mechanical chest compression device can reduce rescuer’s exposure in cardiac arrests patients during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in COVID-19 pandemic period

• Park J
• Lee S
• Kim SY
• Kim JW
• Hong DY
• Lee KR
• Baek KJ
• Park SO

Abstract

Objective
In the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, virus transmission via exposal to arrest victims infected can be a huge risk to rescuers during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We hypothesized that using a mechanical chest compression device can reduce the rescuer’s exposure to cardiac arrest patients during CPR.
Methods
This is a retrospective clinical study that compared CPRs using a mechanical chest compression device (mCPR) with CPRs with manual chest compression (c-CPR). All CPR data were obtained by analyzing recorded video clips and the medical charts. The primary outcome was the number of rescuers who participated in CPR. In addition, the length of time rescuers’ staying around the arrested victim and some procedure time were evaluated.
Results
There was no significant difference in baseline data of CPR between the m-CPR (n=28) and c-CPR (n=25) groups. The m-CPR group showed a significantly reduced mean number of rescuers (4.4±0.5 vs. 5.5±0.5) and mean total time of rescuer’s staying (2,609.9±315.4 seconds vs. 3,286.0±329.9 seconds) comparing with the c-CPR group (P<0.05). The m-CPR group showed a delay in the first rhythm analysis compared with the c-CPR group (40.0 seconds [30.0-57.5] vs. 27.0 seconds [25.0-43.5])
Conclusion
The usage of a mechanical compression device can reduce the number of rescuers and the length of time staying around the victim. However, a delay in rhythm analysis can occur in the m-CPR group.

Keyword

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Mechanical chest compression device; Manual chest compressions; Emergency department