Elisabete Aramendi

By Sofia Ruiz de Gauna, Jesus Ruiz, Unai Irusta and Elisabete Aramendi

Part of the book: Cardiac Defibrillation

By U. Irusta, E. Aramendi, J. Ruiz and S. Ruiz de Gauna

Part of the book: Tachycardia

By Andoni Elola, Erik Alonso, Elisabete Aramendi and Unai Irusta

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) consisting of chest compressions and assisted ventilation is crucial to treat out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). It is well reported that quality of manual ventilations, in terms of rate and volume, is suboptimal, with a high incidence of hyperventilation, which is linked to poor outcomes. The lack of a noninvasive technology to monitor ventilations during out-of-hospital CPR precludes feedback on ventilations to the rescuer, and it handicaps the evaluation of the effect of ventilations on the outcome of the patient. This chapter addresses the possibilities and challenges of monitoring the quality of manual ventilations in current defibrillators. Methods are proposed to monitor ventilations based on the thoracic impedance and the capnogram. These methods can be integrated in defibrillators used in both basic and advanced life support. The algorithms are described, and the accuracy of the methods to monitor the ventilation rate and the quality metrics of the ventilations is reported using real OHCA episodes. The accuracy and limitations of the methods as well as the implications of integrating them in the treatment of patients in cardiac arrest are discussed.

Part of the book: Noninvasive Ventilation in Medicine