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THURSDAY, June 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Someone collapses with a cardiac arrest<\/a> nearby — in the COVID-19<\/a> era, do you dare to assist?<\/p>\n Here’s some reassuring — and potentially lifesaving — news: You’re at low risk for coronavirus infection if you perform CPR on someone in cardiac arrest<\/a>, new research shows.<\/p>\n CPR can save the lives of people who suffer cardiac arrest in a public place. But concerns have been raised during the current pandemic that chest compressions used in CPR could release respiratory droplets containing the coronavirus that causes COVID-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We believe the current findings support telecommunicators and bystanders maintaining the most efficient approach that prioritizes rapid identification of cardiac arrest and immediately proceeds to chest compressions and use of a defibrillator<\/a>,” wrote study authors led by Dr. Michael Sayre, a professor of emergency medicine<\/a> at the University of Washington in Seattle.<\/p>\n “Delaying bystander CPR to [put on personal protective equipment] should only be considered when the prevalence of COVID-19<\/a> infection is substantially increased,” the researchers concluded.<\/p>\n To assess the risk, researchers analyzed Seattle EMS and hospital data from Jan. 1 to mid-April. During that time, EMS responded to 1,067 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, of which 478 were treated by EMS with CPR.<\/p>\n During the active period of COVID-19<\/a> (Feb. 26-April 15) in the study, EMS responded to 537 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, of which 230 (48%) received CPR from EMS.<\/p>\n As of April 15, Seattle had 15 deaths per 100,000 population from COVID-19<\/a>, higher than 42 other states at that time. COVID-19<\/a> was diagnosed in less than 10% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.<\/p>\n Assuming the risk of coronavirus transmission to bystanders performing hands-only CPR without personal protective equipment is 10%, treating 100 patients could result in one bystander infection (10% with COVID-19 multiplied by 10% transmission rate), according to the researchers.<\/p>\n Given a 1% death rate for COVID-19, about one rescuer might die in 10,000 cases of bystander CPR. By comparison, bystander CPR saves more than 300 additional lives among 10,000 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n The findings were outlined in a research letter published June 4 in the journal Circulation<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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