Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a common occurrence in the UK, with 60,000 cases reported annually. To improve outcomes among these patients it is necessary to improve links in the cardiac arrest chain of survival. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the main elements of this chain because it reduces further ischaemic insult in the brain and heart by contributing to blood flow. However, even the best manual CPR provides only 20%-30% of the normal cardiac output. Despite the emphasis on timely CPR at the correct rate and depth, delivery of compressions is suboptimal for many patients and mechanical devices may improve outcomes.
This article critically appraises two important papers on the use of mechanical CPR for OHCA. It also suggests potential uses for this treatment option and areas for future research.
Emergency Nurse. 26, 3, 21-27. doi: 10.7748/en.2018.e1825
Correspondence Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software
Conflict of interestNone declared
PermissionTo reuse this article or for information about reprints and permissions, please contact permissions@rcni.com
Write for usFor information about writing for RCNi journals, contact writeforus@rcni.com
For author guidelines, go to rcni.com/writeforus
or
Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now
Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more