Ventilation Quality During Cardiac Resuscitation: The Final Frontier

Ventilation is an important but often forgotten component of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite years of research advancing our knowledge of high-quality chest compressions, ventilation quality has not received the same attention. Recent technological advancements have overcome previous barriers and allowed for proper ventilation measurement in the field. This has provided unique opportunities to improve our knowledge of ventilation practices. The focus of this talk is on high-quality ventilations - the forgotten component of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We will discuss the evidence behind current ventilation best practices, tips and tricks for optimization of ventilations in the field, and discuss how ventilations can impact overall patient survival. In addition, we will discuss our ongoing program of research examining ventilation quality in the prehospital setting. We will discuss the results of our recent before-and-after study examining the quality of ventilations performed in the field, and the use of real-time feedback to improve overall ventilation quality. We will also discuss our current randomized controlled trial examining ventilation parameters and patient outcomes from cardiac arrest. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of the role of high-quality ventilations and the evidence backing current recommendations in cardiac arrest management.