Abstract
Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) frequently respond to out-of-hospital
cardiac arrest (OHCA) situations. Some have speculated mechanical cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (mCPR) may be able to rectify the inadequacy of human performance of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during transport. A number of studies have examined
the performance of mCPR devices in the air medical setting specifically. Many aspects
of the HEMS environment seem uniquely conducive to mCPR, and a growing body of research
seems to suggest mCPR holds promise for the treatment of cardiac arrest by HEMS clinicians.
Simulation studies show that mCPR leads to improved CPR performance compared with
manual CPR in HEMS. Case reports and the experience of several HEMS programs suggest
that mCPR can be effectively integrated into HEMS care. However, further research
regarding the effectiveness of mCPR in the HEMS environment and in general cardiac
arrest care is needed.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 16, 2022
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© 2022 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.