• Maeng Real Park and Dae Sup Lee.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: mreal.park@pusan.ac.kr.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2017 Aug 1; 35 (8): 1075-1077.

ObjectivesThe hydraulic height control systems of hospital beds provide convenience and shock absorption. However, movements in a hydraulic bed may reduce the effectiveness of chest compressions. This study investigated the effects of hydraulic bed movement on chest compressions.Materials And MethodsTwenty-eight participants were recruited for this study. All participants performed chest compressions for 2min on a manikin and three surfaces: the floor (Day 1), a firm plywood bed (Day 2), and a hydraulic bed (Day 3). We considered 28 participants of Day 1 as control and each 28 participants of Day 2 and Day 3 as study subjects. The compression rates, depths, and good compression ratios (>5-cm compressions/all compressions) were compared between the three surfaces.ResultsWhen we compared the three surfaces, we did not detect a significant difference in the speed of chest compressions (p=0.582). However, significantly lower values were observed on the hydraulic bed in terms of compression depth (p=0.001) and the good compression ratio (p=0.003) compared to floor compressions. When we compared the plywood and hydraulic beds, we did not detect significant differences in compression depth (p=0.351) and the good compression ratio (p=0.391).ConclusionsThese results indicate that the movements in our hydraulic bed were associated with a non-statistically significant trend towards lower-quality chest compressions.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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