Reduced hands-off-time and time to first shock in CPR according to the ERC Guidelines 2005.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Chest compressions and early defibrillation are crucial in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The Guidelines 2005 brought major changes to the basic life support and automated external defibrillator (BLS-AED) algorithm. We compared the European Resuscitation Council's Guidelines 2000 (group '00) and 2005 (group '05) on hands-off-time (HOT) and time to first shock (TTFS) in an experimental model.

METHODS: In a randomised, cross-over design, volunteers were assessed in performing BLS-AED over a period of 5min on a manikin in a simulated ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest situation. Ten minutes of standardised teaching and 10min of training including corrective feedback were allocated for each of the guidelines before evaluation. HOT was chosen as the primary and TTFS as the secondary outcome parameter.

RESULTS: Forty participants were enrolled; one participant dropped out after group allocation. During the 5-min evaluation period of adult BLS-AED, HOT was significantly (p<0.001) longer in group '00 [273+/-3s (mean+/-standard error)] than in group '05 (188+/-3s). The TTFS was significantly (p<0.001) longer in group '00 (91+/-3s) than in group '05 (71+/-3s).

CONCLUSION: In this manikin setting, HOT and TTFS improved with BLS-AED performed according to Guidelines 2005.