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CPR Performance Counts

Quality Improves Survival

A monograph sponsored by the CPR Improvement Working Group and published by Elsevier Public Safety. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S., and the quality of CPR delivered has a direct impact on ROSC. This monograph alerts health care professionals to the disparity between how they perceive their performance and their actual CPR performance; and the role that retraining, monitoring and feedback play in the delivery of quality CPR.

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Quality Makes the Difference

Fifty years after the introduction of CPR, we clearly know that immediate, uninterrupted and properly performed CPR saves lives. We know how to do CPR; now we must close the gap between knowing how to do CPR and the way we actually perform CPR. Providers now have more opportunity than ever to improve survival from sudden cardiac arrest. The focus must shift from “Do CPR” to “Do CPR right.”

A.J. Heightman, MPA, EMT-P | Bentley J. Bobrow, MD | Marion Leary, RN, BSN

Perception vs. Reality

An international survey of health care providers to assess 1) provider perceptions of their CPR knowledge and ability, 2) recall of recent CPR performance, 3) adoption and implementation of CPR Guidelines, 4) attitudes toward the importance of CPR, 5) perceptions of CPR training and quality improvement, and 6) level of awareness and experience with CPR measurement and feedback systems.

Robert E. O’Connor, MD, MPH

The Science of CPR

Although CPR has been used for many years in conjunction with other resuscitation interventions, recent studies demonstrating the reality of its use in clinical settings and linking its quality to patient outcomes have revolutionized attitudes surrounding the importance of properly performed chest compressions.

Dana Peres Edelson, MD, MS | Deborah Walsh, MS, RN

Retraining Pays Off

Case studies of some interesting techniques and guidelines for improving CPR from around the world.

Teresa McCallion, EMT-B,

The Experts Weigh In

Issues in CPR performance and resuscitation are discussed, as well as best practices in CPR training, historical practices that have to be changed, pitfalls and obstacles to proper CPR performance, the importance of feedback and feedback devices in producing positive outcomes and what hospitals have learned about CPR performance that can help prehospital teams.

Bentley J. Bobrow, MD