ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to compare the quality of chest compressions between cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by a single trained rescuer and two rescuer CPR performed by a trained rescuer and an untrained rescuer in a prolonged out-of-hospital CPR scenario. METHODS: For the phase I experiment, thirty-six emergency medical technician students (trained rescuers) were asked to perform 10 minutes of lone rescuer CPR on an instrumented manikin. For the phase II experiment, thirty-six volunteers with no previous CPR training (untrained rescuers) were recruited. Each untrained rescuer was randomly assigned to one trained rescuer. They were asked to perform 10 minutes of two rescuer CPR during the phase II experiment. RESULTS: During phase I, the percent of correct compressions diminished over time. The number of total compressions attempted for 10 minutes was increased significantly in phase II (786+/-50 versus 689+/-50 in phase I, p<0.01). However, the mean percentage of correct compressions for 10 minutes did not show a significant difference between phases (66+/-34% in phase I versus 64+/-22% in phase II). The duration of chest compression interruption was significantly reduced in phase II (3.0+/-0.4 versus 3.5+/-0.5 min in phase I, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The quality of two rescuer CPR performed by a trained rescuer and an untrained rescuer was comparable to that of lone rescuer CPR performed by a single trained rescuer in a 10-min CPR scenario. When CPR goes on for a prolonged period, changing the person doing the chest compressions to an untrained rescuer may improve the quality of CPR.