Project Name: Influence of external factors in the quality of chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency manoeuvre used in a victim who is in cardiac arrest. Early and efficient CPR, with special focus on chest compressions, is a key element to improve patient’s survival.
The focus for success in resuscitation should not only be the rapid onset of the manoeuvres, but also the quality with which they are applied. Therefore, studying the quality of CPR and the factors that influence the rescuer’s performance is very relevant.
The study of fatigue in CPR manoeuvres has appeared in the literature mainly after the recent updates to the guidelines. In addition to intrinsic fatigue, there are other factors external to the CPR manoeuvre that influence its quality, such as the surface under the victim and the position of the rescuer, among others.
This multi-centre, international project aims to investigate the correlation between these factors thus promoting rescuer awareness to external factors influence on their performance, development of recommendations, and change of behaviours/attitudes, thus promoting high quality CPR. It is expected that this study will provide translational validity, as it may result in new recommendations and changes in current clinical practice.

More information: csacouto@med.up.pt (Carla Sá Couto, PhD - Project Leader)