AI Article Synopsis
- Pre-hospital care of cardiac arrest patients in remote mountain areas poses significant challenges for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) due to the need for effective chest compression and minimal interruptions.
- This study assessed the effectiveness of mechanical chest compression devices, specifically Lucas and AutoPulse, during seven CPR attempts in alpine settings over a 12-month period.
- The findings suggest that these devices are effective and practical for CPR in extreme conditions, such as deep hypothermia, where prolonged resuscitation is crucial, despite the complexities of rescue operations in challenging terrain.
Article Abstract
Introduction: Pre-hospital care of cardiac arrest patients in the mountain environment is one of the most challenging problems for helicopter medical emergency services (HEMS) teams. To provide high-quality chest compression with minimal hand s-off-time is very demanding in the alpine area.
Methods: We used and evaluated mechanical chest compression devices (Lucas and AutoPulse) and investigated if these are good and useful tools in the alpine HEMS. Over a period of 12 months we performed 7 CPRs in remote alpine terrain.
Conclusion: On the strength of our past experience, CPR under special circumstances like deep hypothermia, in which a prolonged CPR is essential, the use of the Lucas and/or AutoPulse was an easy and sufficient tool even in difficult alpine terrain which requires special rescue missions like winch or MERS evacuation.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2014.05.002 | DOI Listing |
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