Photo Credit: Ronnachaipark

The following is a summary of “Effectiveness of a dispatcher-assisted CPR using an animated image: Simulation study,” published in the April 2024 issue of Emergency Medicine by Ohk, et al.

Given the limited research on bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance, researchers for a study sought to compare the effectiveness of bystander CPR when assisted by our self-developed animated GIFs versus traditional dispatcher-assisted auditory instructions.

The study involved 80 adults without CPR training in the past two years. Participants were divided into two groups: 40 in the auditory group (receiving CPR instructions via phone) and 40 in the audiovisual group (receiving phone instructions supplemented with animated GIFs on a smartphone). Participants performed both adult and infant CPR for 2 minutes. CPR performance was recorded using two video cameras (front and side views) and evaluated by two emergency physicians. CPR quality was assessed using Resusci Anne & Baby QCPR Mk II (Laerdal).

In the adult CPR segment, the audiovisual group outperformed the auditory group in terms of “knee position,” “hand posture,” “elbow extension,” and “vertical compression” adequacy. They also achieved higher Standard Posture Completeness and Instruction Performance scores (P < 0.001). However, no significant differences in CPR quality were noted between the groups. For infant CPR, the audiovisual group showed superior performance in “compression site,” “finger posture,” and “vertical compression” adequacy, as well as higher scores for Standard Posture Completeness and Instruction Performance (P < 0.001). Additionally, the audiovisual group demonstrated a higher “adequate compression rate ratio” (P = 0.047) in CPR quality.

Using animated GIFs for audiovisual guidance significantly improved CPR Standard Posture Completeness and Instruction Performance compared to traditional auditory guidance alone.

Reference: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675724000238