For Bystander Resuscitation, Compression-Only CPR Better

Cardiac arrest patients' survival to hospital discharge 60 percent higher with this method

TUESDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (COCPR) administered by laypersons in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest situations is associated with higher survival rates than conventional CPR, according to research published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Bentley J. Bobrow, M.D., of the Arizona Department of Health Services in Phoenix, and colleagues conducted a prospective observational study of 4,415 witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of conventional CPR administered by non-medical professionals in the field, COCPR administered by laypersons, and no CPR.

The researchers found that, during the study period (2005 to 2009), CPR performed by lay rescuers increased from 28.2 to 39.9 percent, and the proportion of bystander CPR that was COCPR increased from 19.6 to 75.9 percent. Rates of survival to hospital discharge were 5.2 percent for the group receiving no bystander CPR, 7.8 percent for the conventional-CPR group, and 13.3 percent for the COCPR group. The adjusted odds ratio for survival of the COCPR group compared to the conventional-CPR group was 1.60.

"Taken together, these findings, along with the results of the COCPR trials and the findings reported by Bobrow et al suggesting a survival benefit, should encourage and justify continuing investigations involving COCPR," writes the author of an accompanying editorial.

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