The influence of different airway management strategies on chest compression fraction in simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation, provided by paramedics: LMA Supreme versus Endotracheal Intubation and Combitube

Introduction. It is strongly advised by the European Resuscitation Council not to interrupt chest compressions for airway management. An alternative to tracheal intubation is the use of a supraglottic airway device (SAD) which should shorten “hands-off” time during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Chest compression fraction (CCF) should be above 0.6 to ensure the probability of successful CPR. We compared the performance of airway management during CPR provided by paramedics using the laryngeal mask (LMA) Supreme, Combitube and endotracheal intubation (ET) in a manikin model. Materials and Methods. Thirty sophomore students of emergency medicine school for paramedics took part in the study. The primary endpoint was to assess the influence of the type of airway management on CCF. The time to successful airway management (TA) was measured and the minute ventilation was assessed using the respirator Medumat Easy and program AMBU® CPR SOFTWARE during uninterrupted CPR. CCF was measured using CPRmeter QCPR (Laerdal). Results. Mean CCF was significantly better for LMA Supreme (0.8 vs 0.71 vs 0.65), mean TA was significantly shorter for LMA supreme: 16.5 sec vs 24.37 sec vs 28,3 sec, the success rate in the first attempt was 100% vs 66.6% vs 100%, mean air leak during chest compressions was 14% vs 8% vs 15% for LMA Supreme, ET and Combitube respectively. Conclusion. The LMA Supreme is an effective tool for airway management during chest compression and provides adequate ventilation. TOMASZ GASZYNSKI ( ) Barlicki University Hospital Ul. Kopciñskiego 22, 90-153 Łódź, Poland Phone: 42 6783748 E-mail: [email protected]