Under pressure: What individual characteristics lead to performance of high-quality chest compressions during CPR practice sessions?

Aim: Despite well-established protocols for cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, performance during real-life cardiac arrests can be suboptimal. Understanding personal characteristics which could influence performance of high-quality chest compressions could provide insight into the practice-performance gap. This study examined chest compression performance, while employing feedback and introducing code team sounds as an anxiety-inducing factor in registered nurses using a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training manikin. Methods: Participants included 120 registered nurses with basic life support certification randomized to one of the following groups: no feedback and no code team sounds, feedback without code team sounds, or feedback with code team sounds. Chest compression sessions occurred at baseline, 30-days and 60-days. Demographic variables and anxiety level were also collected. The primary outcome was chest compression performance, defined as average percent of time with correct rate and percent with correct depth as captured by the defibrillator. Statistical analysis included linear mixed effects analysis. Results: The effect of feedback on chest compression performance depended on the value of other parameters. The benefit of feedback on the primary outcome depended on: age, with feedback less beneficial among older participants (p = 0.0413); and time, with feedback more beneficial with repetition (p = 0.011). These interactions also affected the outcome percent of time with correct compression depth. Increased anxiety was associated with decreased percent correct compression depth (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Feedback emerged as important in determining chest compression performance. Chest compression quality was limited by the performer's age and anxiety level. Future research should focus on identifying factors related to individual characteristics which may influence chest compression performance.

Insurance status and the treatment of myocardial infarction at academic centers.

UNLABELLED: Numerous studies have documented treatment disparities in patients with acute coronary syndromes based on race and gender. Other causes for treatment disparities may exist. OBJECTIVES: To determine if insurance status affects quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) presenting to academic health centers. METHODS: The Internet Tracking Registry for Acute Coronary Syndromes (i*trACS), a prospective multicenter registry of patients with chest pain presenting to the emergency department who receive an electrocardiogram, was used as the database (N = 17,737). A subset of patients who were diagnosed as having AMI were selected from the database (n = 936). Patients were classified as having either ST-segment elevation MI (n = 178) or non-ST-segment elevation MI (n = 758). Insurance status, age, race, and gender were extracted as predictor variables. The influence of predictor variables on treatment modality was investigated using logistic regression, adjusted for clustering within sites. RESULTS: The odds of a self-pay patient with ST-segment elevation MI receiving fibrinolytics were 3.23 (95% CI = 1.56 to 6.69) times higher than for other patients. Patients with Medicare coverage were less likely to receive fibrinolytics (odds ratio [OR] 0.35, 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.65) and tended to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention less often (OR 0.60, 95% CI = 0.36 to 1.01). The odds of a privately insured patient's receiving coronary artery bypass grafting (OR 2.76, 95% CI = 1.62 to 4.72) or percutaneous coronary intervention (OR 1.47, 95% CI = 1.03 to 2.11) were higher than for other patients. CONCLUSIONS: Insurance coverage appears to affect treatment in patients with AMI, with self-pay patients more likely to receive less-expensive therapies and insured patients more likely to receive invasive treatments.

The impact of race on the acute management of chest pain.

OBJECTIVES: African Americans with acute coronary syndromes receive cardiac catheterization less frequently than whites. The objective was to determine if such disparities extend to acute evaluation and non interventional treatment. METHODS: Data on adults with chest pain (N = 7,935) presenting to eight emergency departments (EDs) were evaluated from the Internet Tracking Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes. Groups were selected from final ED diagnosis: 1) acute myocardial infarction (AMI), n = 400; 2) unstable angina/non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI), n = 1,153; and 3) nonacute coronary syndrome chest pain (non-ACS CP), n = 6,382. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for AMI and UA/NSTEMI were used to evaluate racial disparities with logistic regression models. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for age, gender, guideline publication, and insurance status. Non-ACS CP patients were assessed by comparing electrocardiographic (ECG)/laboratory evaluation, medical treatment, admission rates, and invasive and noninvasive testing for coronary artery disease (CAD). RESULTS: African Americans with UA/NSTEMI received glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors less often than whites (OR, 0.41; 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.91). African Americans with non-ACS CP underwent ECG/laboratory evaluation, medical treatment, and invasive and noninvasive testing for CAD less often than whites (p < 0.05). Other nonwhites with non-ACS CP were admitted and received invasive testing for CAD less often than whites (p < 0.01). African Americans and other nonwhites with AMI underwent catheterization less frequently than whites (OR, 0.45; 95% CI = 0.29 to 0.71 and OR, 0.40; 95% CI = 0.17 to 0.92, respectively). A similar disparity in catheterization was noted in UA/NSTEMI therapy (OR, 0.53; 95% CI = 0.40 to 0.68 and OR, 0.68; 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Racial disparities in acute chest pain management extend beyond cardiac catheterization. Poor compliance with recommended treatments for ACS may be an explanation.