Passive vs. Active Ventilation for Out-of-Hospital VF/VT Cardiac Arrest

Patients with witnessed arrest who received CPR had a higher rate of neurologically intact survival if they received oxygen by mask than by positive pressure ventilation.

Recent out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation protocols emphasize chest compressions and deferment of active airway management with bag-valve-mask (BVM) ventilation or endotracheal intubation. Evidence suggests that passive ventilation occurs during chest compression, that advanced airway maneuvers disrupt continuity of chest compression, and that positive pressure ventilation increases intrathoracic pressure and decreases coronary perfusion pressure.

These authors retrospectively analyzed data for 1019 adult patients who received minimally interrupted CPR for out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) cardiac arrest in Arizona from 2005 to 2008. Rates of neurologically intact survival were compared for t…

Reviewing Author

Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose