“CPR with chest compression alone or with rescue breathing,” published July 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine, sought to determine if dispatcher instructions to bystanders to provide chest compression-only CPR would result in higher survival rates than instruction to provide chest compressions along with rescue breathing.1
There were 1,941 patients included in the study, 981 of whom received chest compressions alone and 960 of whom received both compressions and rescue breathing.
The study found that “dispatcher instruction consisting of chest compression alone did not increase the survival rate overall, although there was a trend toward better outcomes in key clinical subgroups. The results support a strategy for CPR performed by laypersons that emphasizes chest compression and minimizes the role of rescue breathing.”
Reference
- Rea TD , et al. CPR with chest compression alone or with rescue breathing. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:423—433. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0908993
