CARDIOVASCULAR NEWS

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation by chest compression alone as good as CPR by compression plus ventilation
 

     
         
       Hallstrom et al reports in the N Engl J Med (2000;342:1546-53) that the outcome after CPR with chest compression alone is similar to that after chest compression with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. A total of 241 patients were randomly assigned to receive chest compression alone and 279 to receive CPR with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. The primary end point was survival to hospital discharge. The rate of survival to hospital discharge was better among patients assigned to chest compression alone than among those assigned to compression plus ventilation (14.6 percent vs. 10.4 percent), although this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.18).

      The investigators concluded that CPR by chest compression alone had an outcome similar to that with chest compression plus mouth-to-mouth ventilation and that chest compression alone may be the preferred approach for inexperienced bystanders.