Comparison of manual and mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Abstract

Introduction: The new cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guideline introduced in 2015 established a new definition for chest compressions: compression rate of 100-120 /min and compression depth of 5-6 cm. These are more difficult to comply with than the former guideline, and we hypothesized that mechanical CPR could comply with the guidelines better than manual CPR. Materials and methods: Participants of the immediate cardiac life support (ICLS) course were recruited, and manual chest compressions performed after the completion of the course were evaluated. The LUCAS^®2 chest compression system was used for mechanical chest compressions. Results: The compression depth and rate in manual CPR (n=18) were 3.65-6.13 cm (median: 5.40 cm) and 98-128 /min (median: 115 /min), respectively, which slightly deviated from levels recommended by the new guidelines, whereas those in mechanical CPR with LUCAS^®2 were 5.13 cm and 101 /min, respectively, which were both within the levels recommended by the new guidelines. Conclusion: Compliance with the new guidelines for the chest compressions may be difficult using manual CPR.