Title: Response to basic life support by lay rescuers: Reporting complications caused by unnecessary chest compressions
Abstract: Dr. Chan has raised some important concerns about the European Resuscitation Council Basic Life Support (BLS) Guidelines for Resuscitation 2005. Most of these points were discussed extensively during the 2005 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Science Conference.1International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. 2005 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science with Treatment Recommendations. Resuscitation 2005;67:157–341.Google Scholar Graham Nichol undertook an extensive review of the science available on the complications from CPR and his worksheet (140A) is available at www.c2005.org. After considerable debate, the 350 resuscitation ‘experts’ at this meeting concluded that there was potentially more harm caused by laypeople not giving chest compressions to someone who was in cardiac arrest than there was from giving chest compressions to an unconscious person who was not in cardiac arrest. Most of the data on the incidence of chest injuries during CPR come from post mortem studies—we do not have a reliable indication of the incidence of injuries in those patients who are resuscitated successfully. We have even fewer data on attempts to perform CPR in individuals who are not in cardiac arrest, including the number of such attempts and the frequency that injuries are caused. As Dr. Chan has stated, it is very important for us to try and collect these data to enable us to quantify the extent of this potential problem. Dr. Chan has raised some important concerns about the European Resuscitation Council Basic Life Support (BLS) Guidelines for Resuscitation 2005. Most of these points were discussed extensively during the 2005 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Science Conference.1International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. 2005 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science with Treatment Recommendations. Resuscitation 2005;67:157–341.Google Scholar Graham Nichol undertook an extensive review of the science available on the complications from CPR and his worksheet (140A) is available at www.c2005.org. After considerable debate, the 350 resuscitation ‘experts’ at this meeting concluded that there was potentially more harm caused by laypeople not giving chest compressions to someone who was in cardiac arrest than there was from giving chest compressions to an unconscious person who was not in cardiac arrest. Most of the data on the incidence of chest injuries during CPR come from post mortem studies—we do not have a reliable indication of the incidence of injuries in those patients who are resuscitated successfully. We have even fewer data on attempts to perform CPR in individuals who are not in cardiac arrest, including the number of such attempts and the frequency that injuries are caused. As Dr. Chan has stated, it is very important for us to try and collect these data to enable us to quantify the extent of this potential problem.