An evaluation of emergency medical technicians' ability to use manual ventilation devices

Three hundred twenty emergency medical technicians (EMTs) were tested for their ability to ventilate a precalibrated Recording Resusci-Annie (Laerdal Medical Corporation) using both a bag-valve-mask and a pocket mask. More than 50% of the EMTs were not capable of ventilating to the minimum standard using a bag-valve-mask. The study demonstrates that the pocket mask method is far superior to the bag-valve-mask method. If these experimental results are confirmed by clinical findings, we recommend that future educational courses teach the bag-valve-mask as a four-hand/two-person skill, with one rescuer squeezing the bag with both hands and the second rescuer maintaining hyperextension.