You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Short reports
Rescuers may vary their side of approach to a casualty without impact on cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance
  1. Christopher M Jones1,
  2. Christopher J Thorne1,
  3. Penelope S Colter1,
  4. Alison Macrae1,
  5. Gregory A Brown1,
  6. Jonathan Hulme2
  1. 1School of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  2. 2Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham, UK
  1. Correspondence to Christopher M Jones, School of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; cmj744{at}bham.ac.uk

Abstract

Aim To determine whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance is influenced by a rescuer's preferred side of approach.

Methods Eighty-three first-year healthcare students were enrolled in a prospective randomised crossover study comparing chest compression quality during uninterrupted chest compression CPR after approach from both their preferred and non-preferred sides.

Results Chest compression quality was not dependent on rescuers' sidedness preference; neither mean compression rate and depth nor hand positioning differed between sides of approach.

Conclusions No link exists between the side from which a rescuer approaches, or prefers to approach, a casualty and chest compression quality.

  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
  • chest compression
  • manikin
  • adult
  • resuscitation
  • training
  • research
  • prehospital care
  • intensive care
  • trauma
  • acute medicine
  • major incidents
  • ventilation
  • analgesia pain control
  • anaesthesia
  • airway

https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2011-200528

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.