Spotlight on Research

Following publication of the 2010 American Heart Association-International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (AHA-ILCOR) guidelines, there has been an increased focus on the characteristic components of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) including length of peri-shock pause, chest compression fraction (CCF), chest compression depth, chest compression rate and chest compression recoil.

This study set out to examine the association between the length of the peri-shock pause and survival from shockable out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) using data from patients enrolled in a randomised control trial known as the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Prehospital Resuscitation Impedance Valve and Early versus Delayed Analysis (ROC PRIMED).

Peri-shock pause is the sum total of both pre- and post-shock pauses. Preshock pause is the time between cessation of chest compressions and the shock being delivered, and postshock pause is the time between shock delivery and resumption of chest compressions.

For this study, 2 006 patients (from a total of 15 794 in ROC PRIMED) met the inclusion criteria: adults aged 18 years or older, who had sustained a non-traumatic OHCA and had an initial presenting rhythm of ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) for which CPR process data for at least one shock was obtainable.