Introduction: Whether the AutoPulse automated chest compression device is worthy of clinical use for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains controversial. A prospective controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effect of AutoPulse versus manual chest compression for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of OHCA patients in the northern district of Shanghai, China.
Material and methods: A total of 133 patients with OHCA who were treated at the Emergency Medical Center of the Tenth People’s Hospital Affiliated with Tongji University between March 2011 and March 2012 were included. The patients were randomly assigned to the Manual CPR (n = 64) and AutoPulse CPR groups (n = 69) in accordance with the approach of chest compression received. The primary outcome measure was return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and the secondary outcome measures included 24-h survival rate, hospital discharge rate, and neurological prognosis at hospital discharge.
Results: The ROSC rate of patients with OHCA was significantly higher in the AutoPulse CPR group than in the Manual CPR group (44.9% vs. 23.4%; p = 0.009). The 24-h survival rate of OHCA patients was significantly higher in the AutoPulse CPR group than in the Manual CPR group (39.1% vs. 21.9%; p = 0.03). The hospital discharge rate of the patients with OHCA was significantly higher in the AutoPulse CPR group than in the Manual CPR group (18.8% vs. 6.3%; p = 0.03). The proportion of patients with OHCA and a cerebral performance category score of 1 or 2 points at hospital discharge was higher in the AutoPulse CPR group than in the Manual CPR group, but the difference was not statistically significant (16.2% vs. 13.4%, p = 1.00).
Conclusions: Use of the AutoPulse increases CPR success and survival rates in patients with OHCA, but its ability to improve cerebral performance requires further evaluation.