Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · May 2008
Meta AnalysisImpact of impedance threshold devices on cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.
Vital organ hypoperfusion significantly contributes to the dismal survival rates observed with manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation after cardiac arrest. The impedance threshold device is a valve which reduces air entry into lungs during chest recoil between chest compressions, producing a potentially beneficial decrease in intrathoracic pressure and thus increasing venous return to the heart. This review provides an update on the impedance threshold device and underlines its effect on short-term survival. ⋯ This meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies suggests that the impedance threshold device improves early outcome in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.