Bystander mouth‐to‐mouth ventilation and regurgitation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation

• Published in: Journal of internal medicine Vol. 260; no. 1; pp. 39 - 42
• Main Authors: VIRKKUNEN, I., KUJALA, S., RYYNÄNEN, S., VUORI, A., PETTILÄ, V., YLI‐HANKALA, A., SILFVAST, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2006; Blackwell Science
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; cardiac arrest; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - adverse effects; Emergency Medical Services; Female; First Aid - adverse effects; Gastroesophageal Reflux - etiology; General aspects; Heart Arrest - therapy; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; mouth‐to‐mouth ventilation; prehospital; Prospective Studies; regurgitation; resuscitation; Survival Analysis; Medicine; Oral cavity; Intensive cardiocirculatory care; Cardiocirculatory arrest; prehospital; mouth-to-mouth ventilation; regurgitation; Cardiovascular disease; Ventilation; resuscitation; cardiac arrest
• ISSN: 0954-6820; 1365-2796
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2006.01664.x

. Objectives.  To determine whether there is an association between bystander mouth‐to‐mouth ventilation and regurgitation in prehospital cardiac arrest patients. Design.  Prospectively conducted observational study. Setting.  Data were collected from patients treated by the emergency medical service (EMS) systems in three middle‐sized or large Finnish urban communities, the Tampere District EMS and the physician‐staffed Helicopter EMSs in the Helsinki and Turku areas in southern Finland. Subjects.  The study population consisted of 529 consecutive prehospital cardiac arrest patients with attempted resuscitation. Exclusion criteria were cardiac arrest due to trauma or drug overdose. Main outcome measures.  Regurgitation in prehospital cardiac arrest patients documented by EMS personnel on the scene. Results.  Regurgitation occurred in a fourth of patients. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with mouth‐to‐mouth ventilation was associated with a significantly increased risk of regurgitation compared with no CPR (P < 0.013) and CPR without ventilations (P < 0.01). Conclusions.  The mode and role of bystander CPR in cardiac arrest needs to be further evaluated.