In this issue: Likelihood of Bystander CPR in Pediatric Cardiac Arrest
Author: Lee Van Vleet, MHS, NRP
Associate Authors: Bradley Baggett, BS, NRP, FP-C; April Elmore, NRP; Michael Ross, BS, NRP, CCEMTP; Melisa Martin, EdD(c), Paramedic
This article was a retrospective observational study, meaning it reviewed data that already existed and tried to find a pattern or otherwise measure something. In this case the authors looked at pediatric cardiac arrests in 2017 and measured how often bystander CPR was performed.
Their conclusions were that layperson CPR was performed in only 42.8% of cases reviewed. They also found that female children were almost twice as likely to receive layperson CPR than male children.
While these numbers are “unacceptably low” as the author notes, I did find a small bit of upside that race, weight or age of the child was not a factor in determining if CPR was provided by a layperson.
One big limitation with the article: They could only review what was provided. If the bystander CPR was not documented by the crew, it did not get counted!
Make sure your documentation is accurate!