Patients with cardiac arrest are ventilated two times faster than guidelines recommend: an observational prehospital study using tracheal pressure measurement.

Aim: To measure ventilation rate using tracheal airway pressures in prehospitally intubated patients with and without cardiac arrest.

Methods: Prospective observational study. In 98 patients (57 with and 41 without cardiac arrest) an air-filled catheter was inserted into the endotracheal tube and connected to a custom-made portable device allowing tracheal airway pressure recording and subsequent calculation of ventilation rate.