A Telephone Method for Helping Lay Rescuers Perform High Quality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Dispatcher-assisted telephone instruction during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) improves the quality of CPR performed by laypersons. However, in Korea, CPR instruction guidelines for bystanders have not made. We therefore studied the effects of verbal instruction on the quality of chest compression. METHODS: Data from two randomized, double-blinded, controlled trials using identical methodology were combined to obtain 175 records for analysis. Subjects were randomized into either a "push as hard as you can and fast" (n=87) or "push down 5~6 cm, 100~120 rate/min" (n=88), verbal instructions in the 2011 Korea Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC). Data were recorded via a Resusci(R) Anne SkillReporter(TM), Laerdal Medical mannequin. Primary outcome measures included chest compression depth and chest compression rate per minute. RESULTS: The average compression depth and speed of chest compressions did not significantly differ between the two verbal instructions. CONCLUSION: The verbal istructions provided by telephone based on the 2011 Korean Guidelines for CPR and ECC are not effective. The instructions for high quality CPR of layperson should therefore be studied.