Study, experience show need for CPR training

A study by the University of Chicago revealed that even under hospital conditions, CPR is often done improperly:

In the 19 January 2005 issue of JAMA, the researchers show that, even in the hospital setting, chest compressions during CPR are often too slow, too shallow and too frequently interrupted, and ventilation rates are usually too high. A second study assessing out-of-hospital CPR by paramedics and nurse anesthetists in three European cities found even greater deviation from the guidelines, suggesting that the problem is endemic. "CPR has been around for 50 years but until now we haven't had a precise, reliable way to assess how well it's being done," said study author Lance Becker, M.D., professor of emergency medicine and director of the Emergency Resuscitation Research Center at the University of Chicago. "Now we find that it's not being done very well."

I saw this study last week, but it didn't hit home until this weekend. While in a Chicago train station, I saw a middle-aged man collapse into an unconscious heap, breathing slowly and laboriously. His pulse was weak, but it was there. All my old Boy Scout training rushed back to me, and I went to work on this poor guy. A young lady next to me was about to begin CPR -- an act which wouldn't have helped, and might have killed him. There wasn't much I could do but take charge and keep his airway open until the paramedics arrived. But sometimes the most important thing is knowing what not to do. Call the local chapter of the American Red Cross (713-526-8300) and get trained. I don't know what happened to that man on the floor of the Randolph Street Station, but I know it could've gone much worse.