title: Interposed abdominal compression-cardiopulmonary resuscitation after cardiac surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The management of cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery differs from the management of cardiac arrest under other circumstances. In other studies, interposed abdominal compression-cardiopulmonary resuscitation (IAC-CPR) resulted in a better outcome compared with conventional CPR. The aim of the present study was to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of IAC-CPR compared with conventional CPR in patients with cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on all cardiac surgical patients who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during the first 24 h after surgery were collected prospectively. Cardiac arrest was defined as the cessation of cardiac mechanical activity with the absence of a palpable central pulse, apnoea and unresponsiveness, including ventricular fibrillation, asystole and pulseless electrical activity. Forty patients were randomized to either conventional CPR (n = 21) or IAC-CPR (n = 19). IAC-CPR was initially performed by compressing the abdomen midway between the xiphoid and the umbilicus during the relaxation phase of chest compression. If spontaneous circulation was not restored after 10-15 min, the surgical team would immediately proceed to resternotomy. The endpoints of the study were safety, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) >5 min, survival to hospital discharge and survival for 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With IAC-CPR, there were more patients in terms of ROSC, survival to hospital discharge, survival for 6 months and fewer CPR-related injuries compared with patients who underwent conventional CPR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IAC-CPR is feasible and safe and may be advantageous in cases of cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center of Hainan Medical College, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: Ji-ke
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center of Hainan Medical College, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center of Hainan Medical College, Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou, China litf79997@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Tian-fa
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Cardiac arrest; Cardiac surgery; Conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Interposed abdominal compression-cardiopulmonary resuscitation