Guidelines for basic life support: A statement by the Basic Life Support Working Party of the European Resuscitation Council, 1992

The aim of this study is to use generative artificial intelligence to perform bibliometric analysis on abstracts published at European Resuscitation Council (ERC) annual scientific congress and define trends in ERC guidelines topics over the last decade.

In this bibliometric analysis, the WebHarvy software (SysNucleus, India) was used to download data from the Resuscitation journal's website through the technique of web scraping. Next, the Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4 (ChatGPT-4) application programming interface (Open AI, USA) was used to implement the multinomial classification of abstract titles following the ERC 2021 guidelines topics.

From 2012 to 2022 a total of 2491 abstracts have been published at ERC congresses. Published abstracts ranged from 88 (in 2020) to 368 (in 2015). On average, the most common ERC guidelines topics were Adult basic life support (50.1%), followed by Adult advanced life support (41.5%), while Newborn resuscitation and support of transition of infants at birth (2.1%) was the least common topic. The findings also highlight that the Basic Life Support and Adult Advanced Life Support ERC guidelines topics have the strongest co-occurrence to all ERC guidelines topics, where the Newborn resuscitation and support of transition of infants at birth (2.1%; 52/2491) ERC guidelines topic has the weakest co-occurrence.

This study demonstrates the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence in the bibliometric analysis of abstract titles using the example of resuscitation medicine research over the last decade at ERC conferences using large language models.

We investigated the biomechanics of four external chest compression (ECC) approaches involving different sides of approach and hand placement during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

A total of 60 participants (30 women and 30 men) with CPR certification performed standard continuous 2-min ECC on a Resusci Anne manikin with real-time feedback in four scenarios: rescuer at the manikin's right side with right hand chest contact (RsRc), rescuer at the manikin's right side with left hand chest contact (RsLc), rescuer at the manikin's left side with left hand chest contact (LsLc), and rescuer at the manikin's left side with right hand chest contact (LsRc). Pressure distribution maps of the palm, peak compression pressure, and compression forces were analysed.

The participants' mean age, height, and weight was 24.8 ± 4.8 years, 165.8 ± 8.7 cm, and 62.7 ± 13.5 kg, respectively. Of the participants, 58 and 2 were right- and left-handed, respectively. Significant between-scenario differences were observed in ulnar-side palm pressure. Ulnar–radial pressure differences were higher in the LsLc and RsRc groups than in the LsRc and RsLc groups (0.69 ± 0.62 and 0.73 ± 050 kg/cm² vs. 0.49 ± 0.49 and 0.50 ± 0.59 kg/cm²; respectively; p < 0.05). Ulnar–radial force differences were higher in the LsLc and RsRs groups than in the sLsLc and RsRs groups.

The higher differences in pressure and force under the LsLc and RsRc approaches may lead to higher risks of potential injury. When performing standard-quality ECC, the LsRc and RsLc approaches, in which compression pressure and force are better distributed, may be more suitable than RsRc or LsLc.

Informed by a series of systematic reviews, scoping reviews and evidence updates from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, the 2021 European Resuscitation Council Guidelines present the most up to date evidence-based guidelines for the practice of resuscitation across Europe. The guidelines cover the epidemiology of cardiac arrest; the role that systems play in saving lives, adult basic life support, adult advanced life support, resuscitation in special circumstances, post resuscitation care, first aid, neonatal life support, paediatric life support, ethics and education.

Bystander CPR-rates are embarrassingly low in some European countries. To increase bystander CPR-rates, many different approaches are used; one of them is training of schoolchildren in CPR. Multiple authors investigated practical and theoretical CPR performance and demonstrated gender differences related to schoolchildren CPR. The objective was to elaborate gender aspects in practical and theoretical CPR-performance from the current literature to better address female and male students.

A systematic search in PubMed-database with different search terms was performed for controlled and uncontrolled prospective investigations. Altogether, n = 2360 articles were identified and checked for aptitude. From n = 97 appropriated articles, n = 24 met the inclusion criteria and were finally included for full review and incorporated in the manuscript.

Female students demonstrated higher motivation to attend CPR-training (p < 0.001), to respond to cardiac arrest (CA) (p < 0.01), scored higher in a CPR-questionnaire (p < 0.025), revealed better remembrance of the national emergency phone-number (p < 0.05) and showed a higher multiplier effect (p < 0.0001). Male students showed higher confidence in CPR-proficiency (p < 0.05), revealed deeper chest compressions (CC) (p < 0.001; p < 0.0015; p < 0.01), a higher CC-fraction (p < 0.01) and a higher arbitrary cardiac output simulated equivalent index (p < 0.05). Male gender could not be detected to be a predictor for higher tidal volume (p = 0.70; p = 0.0212).

In context of schoolchildren CPR, gender aspects are underestimated. Female students seem to be more motivated to attend CPR-training, reach more people in the role of a multiplier and need to be individually addressed in intensified practical training. Male students achieve a more sufficient chest compression depth and −fraction and could benefit from individual motivation.

Resuscitation guidelines endorse unconscious and normally breathing out-of-hospital victims to be placed in the recovery position to secure airway patency, but recently a debate has been opened as to whether the recovery position threatens the cardiac arrest victim's safety assessment and delays the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

To compare the assessment of the victim's breathing arrest while placed in the recovery position versus maintaining an open airway with the continuous head tilt and chin lift technique to know whether the recovery position delays the cardiac arrest victim's assessment and the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Basic life support-trained university students were randomly divided into two groups: one received a standardized cardiopulmonary resuscitation refresher course including the recovery position and the other received a modified cardiopulmonary resuscitation course using continuous head tilt and chin lift for unconscious and spontaneously breathing patients. A human simulation test to evaluate the victim's breathing assessment was performed a week later.

In total, 59 participants with an average age of 21.9 years were included. Only 14 of 27 (51.85%) students in the recovery position group versus 23 of 28 (82.14%) in the head tilt and chin lift group p = 0.006 (OR 6.571) detected breathing arrest within 2 min.

The recovery position hindered breathing assessment, delayed breathing arrest identification and the initiation of cardiac compressions, and significantly increased the likelihood of not starting cardiopulmonary resuscitation when compared to the results shown when the continuous head tilt and chin lift technique was used.

Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can improve survival rate from cardiac arrest and students are potentially important bystander CPR providers.

Our aim was to investigate the willingness among Chinese students to learn and perform bystander CPR.

Questionnaires were distributed to 1407 students. The survey investigated the willingness to learn and perform bystander CPR and the barriers to performing CPR on family members and strangers, assuming that students had mastered CPR.

Only 14.6% of respondents reported having ever attended CPR training classes, however, 88.3% expressed their willingness to learn. The main characteristics of the students who were willing to learn were the following: they considered the development of the local emergency system excellent (odds ratio [OR] = 3.15); cardiovascular diseases were present within their family (OR = 2.74); and they had previously heard about CPR (OR = 2.43). Almost all respondents (94.6%) reported that they would conduct bystander CPR on family members, while only 59.7% of respondents would do it for strangers. A lack of confidence was the principal barrier to doing CPR for family members (78.4%) and the leading barrier to stranger CPR was the fear of legal liability if their lifesaving attempts failed (90.8%). The complicated process of performing CPR was also a major barrier in both scenarios.

When there is a great desire to learn CPR, the rate and effect of training can be significantly improved by providing students with regular CPR training, especially compression-only CPR training. Training classes should focus on enhancing the participants’ confidence. In addition, legislation by the government is needed to protect the rescuers.