Standardisation facilitates reliable interpretation of ETCO during manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Background: Interpretation of end-tidal CO (ETCO) during manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is affected by variations in ventilation and chest compressions. This study investigates the impact of standardising ETCO to constant ventilation rate (VR) and compression depth (CD) on absolute values and trends.

Methods: Retrospective study of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases with manual CPR, including defibrillator and clinical data.

The Role of Chest Compressions on Ventilation during Advanced Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

There is growing interest in the quality of manual ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but accurate assessment of ventilation parameters remains a challenge. Waveform capnography is currently the reference for monitoring ventilation rate in intubated patients, but fails to provide information on tidal volumes and inspiration-expiration timing. Moreover, the capnogram is often distorted when chest compressions (CCs) are performed during ventilation compromising its reliability during CPR.

Characterization of mechanical properties of adult chests during pre-hospital manual chest compressions through a simple viscoelastic model.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to develop a simple viscoelastic model to characterize the mechanical properties of chests during manual chest compressions in pre-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Methods: Force and acceleration signals were extracted from CPR monitors used during pre-hospital resuscitation attempts on adult patients. Individual chest compressions were identified and segmented from the chest displacement computed using the force and acceleration.

Contribution of chest compressions to end-tidal carbon dioxide levels generated during out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Aim: Characterise how changes in chest compression depth and rate affect variations in end-tidal CO (ETCO) during manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of adult OHCA monitor-defibrillator recordings having concurrent capnogram, compression depth, transthoracic impedance and ECG, and with atleast 1,000 compressions. Within each patient, during no spontaneous circulation, nearby segments with changes in chest compression depth and rate were identified.