Abstract

Background and purpose: One person cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has a significant role in the survival of cardiac arrest victims. In this study, two techniques of single-rescuer CPR and over-the-head CPR with mouth-to-mouth ventilation were compared. Materials and methods: This crossover study was carried out among 100 medical students who were previously trained in CPR. They performed regular single-rescuer CPR and chest compressions on manikins. The numbers of mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest compressions were recorded during a 2-min CPR. The data was analyzed using parametric and non-parametric tests. Results: The participants included 45 female and 55 male. The mean number of correct chest compression was 17.06 ± 22.5 while this number was 176.6 ± 21.1 for over-the- head CPR (P<0.053). The numbers of correct ventilations and over-the-head CPR were 10 ± 2.1 and 10.2 ± 2.1, respectively (P<0.402). Incorrect chest compression was found to be 31 but it was 24 in over the head CPR (P= 0.368). Conclusion: This study verified over-the-head CPR without ambo bag as an effective alternative standard technique when performing one person CPR.