Estimation of CPR Chest Compression Depth

Can Rescuers Accurately Deliver Subtle Changes to Chest Compression Depth if Recommended by Future Guidelines?

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03230461

Enrollment

100

Registered

2017-07-26

Start date

2016-10-31

Completion date

2017-08-07

Last updated

2017-08-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cardiac Arrest

Keywords

CPR, Basic life support

Brief summary

Optimal chest compression depth during CPR is 4.56cm which is at variance with the current guidelines of 5.0-6.0cm. A change in guidelines is only worthwhile if healthcare professionals can accurately judge a subtle reduction in chest compression depth during CPR by a relatively small amount.

Detailed description

Chest compression depth and rate during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are important predictors of return of spontaneous circulation and survival following cardiac arrest. Stiell et al (2014) found optimal survival at a compression depth of 4.56cm, which is at variance with the current guidelines of 5.0-6.0cm. A change in guidelines is only likely to improve survival rates if healthcare professionals can accurately implement these subtle depth modifications into the basic life support (BLS) algorithm. This study aims to determine if healthcare professionals can accurately judge compression depth without real-time feedback.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCompression depth

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SEQUENTIAL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Masking description

Participants and researchers are blinded to the actual depth achieved during each CPR run.

Intervention model description

Prospective, randomised.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* NHS professionals (staff or students), who have successfully completed a hospital-accredited basic life support (BLS) course, including a practical CPR component.

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy, significant medical illness or injury that would impair delivery of chest compressions

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Compression to target window depth	Two minutes	Mean compression depth

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Compression to target rate	Two minutes	Mean compression rate

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026