People who received detailed audio instructions on how to
perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) demonstrated better compression
rate, hand placement and compression depth than those who did not receive
recorded instructions by cell phone. The results of the study are published
today online in Annals of Emergency Medicine (“Cell Telephone Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Audio Instructions
When Needed by Lay Rescuers: A Randomized, Controlled Trial”).
“Since most people carry cell phones, we designed a cell
phone program that can walk people through how to perform CPR,” said lead
author Raina Merchant, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
in Philadelphia, Pa. “It is well-documented that bystanders are reluctant to
perform CPR because of a lack of confidence about technique, despite the fact
that bystander CPR can deliver blood to vital organs until an ambulance
arrives. This has the potential to become a critical, life-saving tool.”
Researchers developed a simple audio recording that can be
used by both basic cell phones and the latest, most high-tech smart phones.
They evaluated the quality of CPR performed by people who are both trained and
untrained in CPR. Regardless of training history, participants using the audio
recording on their phone performed significantly better CPR on a manikin
compared with participants without the phone.
Participants instructed by cell phone performed 100
compressions per minute, versus 44 per minute in the control group, and
achieved compression depth of 41 millimeters, versus 31 millimeters in the
control group (depth of compressions less than 38 millimeters is considered too
shallow). Ninety-seven percent of the cell phone group demonstrated correct
hand placement, versus 75 percent of the control group, and 73 percent of the
cell phone group reported feeling excellent or very good about their ability to
perform CPR, versus 34 percent of the control group.
“This is an exciting first step for potentially increasing
bystanders’ access to real-time CPR instructions that can be used in an
emergency to help those in need,” said Dr. Merchant. “These findings show that
even without training, anyone can save a life with the push of a button on
their cell phone.”
SOURCE: American College of Emergency Physicians