New Out-of-Hospital CPR Protocol Increases Survival

A new CPR protocol, which focuses on compressions and not ventilatory support, increases the survival rate when used by emergency medical service personnel, JAMA reports.

The new protocol, called minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR), consists of 200 compressions, followed by rhythm analysis with a single shock, another 200 compressions, a pulse check, and then rhythm reanalysis. Intubation is delayed until three rounds of compressions, and oxygenation until then is mostly passive.

Survival-to-discharge increased from 1.8% before MICR training to 5.4% afterwards. In cases of witnessed arrest and ventricular fibrillation, survival went from 4.7% to 17.6%.

An editorialist writes that although MICR "needs further scientific evaluation," such details "are likely not important factors to the numerous additional survivors who are back home with their families after the implementation of this new protocol."