Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Mar 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialComparison of the quality of chest compressions on a dressed versus an undressed manikin: A controlled, randomised, cross-over simulation study.
Undressing the chest of a cardiac arrest victim may delay the initiation of chest compressions. Furthermore, expecting laypeople to undress the chest may increase bystander reluctance to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Both of these factors might conceivably decrease survival following cardiac arrest. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine if the presence or absence of clothes affected the quality of chest compressions during CPR on a simulator manikin. ⋯ In this simulator manikin study, there was no benefit gained in terms of how well CPR was performed by undressing the thorax. Furthermore, undressing the thorax delayed initiation of CPR by laypeople, which might be clinically detrimental for survival.