The importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a fundamental component of initial care for the victim of cardiac arrest. In the past few years, increasing quantitative evidence has demonstrated that survival from cardiac arrest is dependent on the quality of delivered CPR. This review will focus on this body of evidence and on a range of practical approaches to improving CPR performance.

A number of strategies to improve CPR quality have been evaluated recently, during both prehospital and in-hospital cardiac arrest care. These strategies have included the use of real-time CPR sensing and feedback, the employment of physiologic monitoring such as end-tidal CO(2) measurement and the use of metronome prompting. The use of mechanical CPR devices to avoid the challenges of manual CPR performance has also represented a topic of great current interest. Additional approaches have focused on both prearrest training (e.g. high-fidelity simulation education and CPR refreshers) and postarrest training (e.g. debriefing).

A number of strategies have been evaluated to improve CPR performance. While many questions remain surrounding the relative value of each approach, it is likely that combinations of these methods may be useful in a variety of care settings to improve care for cardiac arrest victims.