Comparing Subjective Fatigue During Two Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Models
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Abstract
Bystanders are the first rescuers to perform CPR for patients suffering from cardiac arrest. Compression-only CPR decreases the amount of interruption time between compressions but increases the fatigue of the rescuer. In this study, participants were certified as lay rescuers and performed two compression-only CPR protocols for eight minutes and 59 seconds. The two protocols were 30 compressions to a 10-second break and continuous compressions with as many 10-second breaks as needed. Body mass index and hand grip strength were collected before the CPR protocols. Rate of Perceived Exertion scores were taken at three, six and nine minutes during each protocol. There were increased fatigue levels during the continuous compressions protocol at all three time intervals. A relationship between hand grip strength and the proper depth was determined for the 30:10 protocol as well as a relationship between hand grip strength and the continuous compressions fatigue levels.