Abstract
Purpose: We compared three chest compression methods to find an efficient method for performing infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for single rescuers and improving chest compressions quality. Methods: Thirty new marine police trainees at the Korea Coast Guard Education Institute were tested for five sessions using three methods of single rescuer infant CPR: two-finger chest compression, two-thumb encircling chest compression, and two-finger support chest compression. Results: The depth, accuracy, and number of compressions per minute of resuscitation were analyzed for the above three methods. The depth of two-finger chest compression, two-thumb encircling chest compression, and two-finger support chest compression was 3.53±0.20cm, 4.10±0.13cm, and 4.22±0.15cm, respectively. Accuracy was 23.86±12.59%, 54.11±10.8%, 71.55±18.81%, respectively, while the time for one cycle of 30 chest compression was 16.01±10.5 seconds, 16.45±0.85 seconds, and 16.56±0.91 seconds, respectively. Chest compression interruptions were 6.59±0.78 seconds, 7.17±0.37 seconds, and 6.97±0.35 seconds, respectively. The interruptions were consistent with the range of 5-10 seconds suggested by the American Heart Association. Conclusion: When one rescuer performs CPR for an infant in cardiac arrest, a comparative analysis of three methods showed that two-thumb encircling chest compression is the best for accuracy and efficiency of chest compressions.