• Je Hyeok Oh, Chan Woong Kim, Sung Eun Kim, Sang Jin Lee, and Dong Hoon Lee.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, National Police Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Emerg Med J. 2014 Jul 1; 31 (7): 533-535.

BackgroundWhen rescuers perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from a standing position, the height at which chest compressions are carried out is raised.ObjectiveTo determine whether chest compressions delivered on a bed adjusted to rescuer's knee height are as effective as those delivered on the floor.Materials And MethodsA total of 20 fourth-year medical students participated in the study. The students performed chest compressions for 2 min each on a manikin lying on the floor (test 1) and on a manikin lying on a bed (test 2). The average compression rate (ACR) and the average compression depth (ACD) were compared between the two tests.ResultsThe ACR was not significantly different between tests 1 and 2 (120.1 to 132.9  vs 115.7 to 131.2 numbers/min, 95% CI, p=0.324). The ACD was also not significantly different between tests 1 and 2 (51.2 to 56.6 vs 49.4 to 55.7 mm, 95% CI, p=0.058).ConclusionsThe results suggest that there may be no significant differences in compression rate and depth between CPR performed on manikins placed on the floor and those placed at a rescuer's knee height.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

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