Two-thumb-encircling hands technique is more advisable than 2-finger technique when lone rescuer performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation on infant manikin.

Objective: The 2010 guidelines recommend new requirements of the chest compression depth for infant. The compression technique recommendation for infant remains the 2-finger (TF) technique for lone rescuer and the 2-thumb-encircling hands technique for 2 rescuers. We hypothesized that the TF technique cannot result in an enough compression depth to meet the guideline requirements and that the 2-thumb-encircling hands technique will not affect the ventilation.

Design: Crossover experimental study randomizes 27 health care providers to perform 2 sets of 5-minute cardiopulmonary resuscitation using a 30:2 compression/ventilation ratio to compare TF and 2-thumb-encircling hands techniques. A Laerdal Resusci Baby QCPR manikin equipped with PC SkillReporting System was used for measuring and recording cardiopulmonary resuscitation data. Data (mean ± SD) were analyzed by using a paired t test. Significance was defined qualitatively as P ≤ .05.

Results: Mean compression depths were 39.25 ± 3.06 cm in the TF technique and 42.37 ± 1.15 cm in the 2-thumb-encircling hands technique, P < .001. Two-finger technique had significant lower fractions of correct hand position than 2-thumb-encircling hands technique (96.56% ± 6.74% vs 99.41% ± 2.52%, P < .05). The fatigue point appears much earlier in TF than in 2-thumb-encircling hands. No difference was identified on ventilation between 2 groups.

Conclusion: The 2-thumb-encircling hands technique can produce a compression depth meeting the current guidelines recommendation without negative influence on ventilation, whereas the TF technique cannot. The 2-thumb-encircling hands technique generates a significant higher ratio of correct compression position than the TF technique. Furthermore, the 2-thumb-encircling hands technique is less fatiguing than the TF technique.