Evaluation of 2 different instruments for exposing the chest in conjunction with a cardiac arrest

Abstract

Background Time between onset of cardiac arrest and start of treatment is of ultimate importance for outcome. The length of time it takes to expose the chest in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is not known. We aimed to compare the time from onset of OHCA until the time at which the chest was exposed using a new device (S-CUT; ES Equipment, Gothenburg, Sweden) and a pair of scissors. Methods In a manikin study, the 2 devices were compared in a simulated cardiac arrest where the initial step was exposure of the chest. The tests were performed using ambulance staff from 3 different ambulance organizations in Western Sweden. Six different types of clothing combinations were used. The primary choices of clothing for analyses were a knitted sweater and shirt (indoors) and a jacket with buttons, a shirt, and a college sweater (outdoors). Results The mean difference from onset of OHCA until the chest was exposed when S-CUT was compared with a pair of scissors varied between 6 seconds ( P = .006) and 63 seconds ( P = .004; shorter with the S-CUT), depending on the type of clothing that was used. The mean differences for the clothing that was chosen for primary analyses were 23 and 63 seconds, respectively. Conclusion We found that a new device (S-CUT) used for exposing the chest in OHCA was associated with a marked shortening of procedure time as compared with a pair of scissors.