Is rescuer cardiopulmonary resuscitation jeopardised by previous fatiguing exercise?

Abstract

Survival outcomes increase significantly when cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is provided correctly, but rescuer’s fatigue can compromise CPR delivery. We investigated the effect of a 100-m maximal run on CPR and physiological variables in 14 emergency medical technicians (age 29.2 ± 5.8 years, height 171.2 ± 1.1 cm and weight 73.4 ± 13.1 kg). Using an adult manikin and a compression-ventilation ratio of 30:2, participants performed 4-min CPR after 4-min baseline conditions (CPR) and 4-min CPR after a 100-m maximal run carrying emergency material (CPR-run). Physiological variables were continuously measured during baseline and CPR conditions using a portable gas analyzer (K4b2, Cosmed, Rome, Italy) and analyzed using two HD video cameras (Sony, HDR PJ30VE, Japan). Higher VO2 (14.4 ± 2.1 and 22.0 ± 2.5 mL·kg−1·min−1) and heart rate (123 ± 17 and 148 ± 17 bpm) were found for CPR-run. However, the compression rate was also higher during the CPR-run (373 ± 51 vs. 340 ± 49) and between every three complete cycles (81 ± 9 vs. 74 ± 14, 99 ± 14 vs. 90 ± 10, 99 ± 10 vs. 90 ± 10, and, 101 ± 15 vs. 94 ± 11, for cycle 3, 6, 9 and 12, respectively). Fatigue induced by the 100-m maximal run had a strong impact on physiological variables, but a mild impact on CPR emergency medical technicians’ performance.