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Abstract

Introduction: Increased requirements of chest compression rate and depth during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by the recent guidelines may make it more difficult for the rescuer to provide sustaining high-quality CPR for the reason of their fatigue. So far, the strategy of rotation timing for rescuers during CPR is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the quality of hands-only CPR in every minute under the latest guidelines and its effect on subjective fatigue of rescuer. Methods: Forty-three healthy undergraduate volunteers were involved in this simulation study. After the 2010 AHA basic life support training course and theoretical examination were finished, eight min of hands-only CPR performance was assessed in a manikin model. The quality of chest compression including rate and depth of compression was analyzed. The subjective rescuer fatigue was evaluated by rating of perceived exertion (PRE), which was recorded at the end of each minute of CPR performance based on Borg’s method as reported previously. The score “6–12” of PRE was considered “light”, “13–16” was “hard”, “17–20” was “very hard” and “maximal exertion”. Results: Forty-two participants completed the study finally. During hands-only CPR, significantly greater mean chest compression depth was achieved in the first minute than in the each minute of the others, though no significant difference was observed in compression rate among eight minutes. However, 95% of participants (40/42) still felt “light” after first minute, whose score of PRE in first minute were 12 ± 2. Conclusions: The quality of hands-only CPR deteriorated in one minute even though without subjective fatigue of rescuer.