CPR by EMS Personnel: Study Measures Performance and Safety

Ventura County Emergency Medical Services in California has a released a study measuring the performance of CPR by EMS personnel, in an effort to reduce errors and improve patient safety.

The study examines the adequacy of chest compression depth and recoil, and evaluates the performance improvement impact of debriefing and real-time visual feedback training.

The study involved 84 on-duty EMTs and paramedics performing chest compressions on a SmartMan© adult CPR manikin system from Ambu, Inc.

See the attached pdf to review the study background, methods and results, which conclude that a debriefing session significantly improved subsequent performance, and that real-time visual feedback practice was superior to debriefing in improving performance.