A History and Overview of Telecommunicator Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (T-CPR)

Few events in pre-hospital medicine inspire as much attention and resources as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), yet the survival rate for such events has remained stagnant and unacceptably low. The first links in the chain of survival are early recognition and early CPR; yet EMS services do not arrive to the scene of a medical call for on average 7 minutes. Emergency dispatchers are generally the first trained individuals involved in medical emergencies; they can provide pre-arrival instructions, specifically telecommunicator CPR (T-CPR), and represent the potential to double the bystander CPR rate and increase return of spontaneous circulation. Yet, according to survey data, fewer than half of all public safety answering points (PSAPs) provide any T-CPR and even fewer provide hands-only CPR instruction.1 This article will provide a brief overview, history and introduction to the evidence supporting the use of T-CPR to improve outcomes in OHCA.