Effect of bed width on the quality of compressions in simulated resuscitation: a randomized crossover manikin study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of bed width on the quality of chest compressions during simulated in-hospital resuscitation.


METHODS
Each candidate performed two 2-minute cycles of compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an adult manikin placed on either an emergency stretcher (narrow bed) or a standard hospital bed (wide bed) in random order at 1 day intervals. We conducted subjective assessments of cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality and rescuer fatigue at the end of each session, using surveys.


RESULTS
There were no significant differences between narrow and wide bed sessions in either mean depth or the percentage of compressions with adequate depth (P=.56 and .58, respectively). The mean rate of compressions and the percentage of compressions with adequate rate were also similar between sessions (P=.24 and .27, respectively). However, the percentage of correct hand position and complete chest recoil was significantly higher in the narrow bed session than in the wide bed session (P=.02 and .02, respectively). In addition, survey results showed that rescuers felt more comfortable and less exhausted in the narrow bed session compared with the wide bed session (P<.001 and < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
When rescuers performed chest compressions on an emergency stretcher, chest compression quality increased, and the fatigue of rescuers decreased compared with a standard hospital bed. Therefore, we propose a narrow bed for critically ill inpatients with high risk of cardiac arrest.
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Xian-Long
XL
Zhou
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Li-Ping
LP
Sheng
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Jing
J
Wang
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Shun-Qing
SQ
Li
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Huang-Lei
HL
Wang
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Shao-Zhou
SZ
Ni
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Shan
S
Jiang
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China. Electronic address: doctoryanzhao@163.com.
Yan
Y
Zhao
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Jun
J
Shen
Emergency Centre, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071, China.
Qi-Sheng
QS
Yang
D001513:Beds; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000592:standards*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006336:Heart Massage / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008348:Manikins; D011187:Posture; D058254:Stretchers; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult