28 Nov Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Continuous vs Interrupted Chest Compressions?

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Siobhan Brown, Ph.D.
Biostatistician, ROC Clinical Trials Center
University of Washington

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Brown: There are several observational studies suggesting that patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may be more likely to survive to hospital discharge when emergency medical service provides do not pause for ventilations while performing CPR (i.e., give continuous compressions); however, the American Heart Association recommends that rescuers pause after each 30 compression to give two ventilations (interrupted compressions). We designed and are conducting a randomized clinical trial comparing the two approaches to see which results in better survival.

The trial is still ongoing, so watch for results in late 2015!

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Brown: We hope that the physicians, medics, and other care providers will be aware of the uncertainty about the best approach to performing ventilations during CPR, and that the results of a large study addressing that question will be available soon.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Brown: Because the trial is still ongoing, we can’t make any recommendations at this time.

Citation:

A Randomized Trial of Continuous Versus Interrupted Chest Compressions in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Rationale for and Design of the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium CCC Trial
Brown, Siobhan P. et al.
American Heart Journal
Published Online: November 20, 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2014.11.011

Last Updated on November 28, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD