The Pandemic Is Not A Reason To Deny People First Aid On The Street

The pandemic is not a reason to deny people first aid on the street

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, carries a low level of risk for the person who performs it, according to American scientists.

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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have become afraid to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for those who have cardiac arrest on the street. Scientists from Italy and France published papers on the increase in the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, and American doctors reported an increase in the number of deaths from this problem.

Scientists from the University of Washington say the risk of contracting the coronavirus with CPR is so small that it doesn't justify refusing to help those who urgently need it. Their research is published in Circulation.

Scientists report that in mid-April in the state of Washington, the incidence and mortality from COVID-19 was the highest in the United States (15 deaths per 100 thousand population). At the same time, this infection was diagnosed in 10% of people with community-acquired cardiac arrest.

Thus, assuming the risk of transmission is 10%, CPR is necessary for 100 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest for one coronavirus infection to occur. If we consider the risk of death with COVID-19 on average 1%, then one death of a person who performed CPR to a victim with a heart stopped on the street will occur after 10 thousand cases of such assistance.

On the other hand, scientists point out that every 10,000 CPR cases performed by passers-by save 300 lives.

In their conclusions, the authors point out that immediate medical calls and urgent resuscitation in community-acquired cardiac arrest remain the most effective method of saving lives. A slight delay in resuscitation to find personal protective equipment makes sense in the face of a dramatically increased incidence of COVID-19.

In an outpatient setting, it is recommended to carry out resuscitation by only pressing on the chest, without artificial respiration. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Heart Association recommends the use of a surgical mask or a knitted mask when performing resuscitation.

You can recall the basic rules of cardiopulmonary surgery by watching the video of the British Heart Foundation.