Does active rescuer ventilation have a place during basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

Rescuer ventilation has always been an integral part of both basic (BLS) and advanced (ACLS) cardiac life support.1 Despite 5 decades of continuous attempts to improve training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), maintenance of free airways and adequate ventilation continue to be difficult skills to acquire and maintain for both lay persons and professionals. Because of airway problems and excessive inflation pressures, much of the air enters the stomach instead of the lungs during bystander CPR,2 and in a recent study, 39% of patients receiving mouth-to-mouth ventilation had signs of regurgitation at the time of intubation.3