The use of personal protection equipment does not impair the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Calvin Lukas Kienbacher, Juergen Grafeneder, Katharina Tscherny, Mario Krammel, Verena Fuhrmann, Maximilian Niederer, Sabine Neudorfsky, Klaus Herbich, Wolfgang Schreiber, Harald Herkner, Dominik von Roth
Abstract
AIM: Prior studies suggest that the use of personal protective equipment might impair the quality of critical care. We investigated the influence of personal protective equipment on out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. METHODS: . RESULTS: . Subjective physical strain after BLS was higher in the personal protective equipment groups (Borg 4 (SD 3) without valve, 4 (SD 2) with valve) than in the control group (Borg 3 (SD 2)). CONCLUSION: PPE including masks with and without expiration valve is safe for use without concerns regarding the impairment of CPR quality.