Abdominal binding during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in man

Prior studies in dogs have shown improved blood pressure (BP) and carotid flow with abdominal binding during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We assessed the effect of abdominal binding at pressures of 60 to 110 cm H2O during CPR in ten patients experiencing cardiac arrest. Abdominal binding for brief periods (30 to 60 s) raised mean arterial pressure from 53.9 +/- 7.1 mm Hg before binding to 67.2 +/- 8.4 mm Hg after binding. In six patients studied who had abdominal binding performed for four minutes, this beneficial effect was still apparent at the end of the time period. No abdominal visceral injury was found in six patients at autopsy. Thus, abdominal binding is an effective yet simple technique for increasing BP during CPR in man with considerable field use potential.