Performing chest compressions during the initial phase of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: continuous vs. alternating (CALM) - a study protocol for prospective, randomised, monocentric, non-blinded, mannequin study with German emergency medical service personnel.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Effective chest compressions are a core element of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Current guidelines recommend exchanging the person performing chest compressions every two minutes to ensure high-quality chest compressions. However, this can lead to several task interruptions, which could result in a prolonged delay until other relevant tasks, such as securing the airway or administering adrenaline, are completed. Some studies have shown that a rescuer can perform sufficient CPR continuously for more than five minutes. Therefore, this study will investigate whether chest compressions without staff changes in the initial phase of CPR result in fewer task interruptions and an earlier completion of relevant tasks.

Methods and analysis

To investigate this, a p

SUBMITTER: Holzer HT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12835407 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature