Radiological assessment of the adult chest: Implications for chest compressions

Computed tomography findings of complications resulting from cardiopulmonary resuscitation

“…In fact, the measured chest anteroposterior diameter of patients with no rib fractures was 195.0 ± 26.1 mm for males and 193.4 ± 23.5 mm for females in the present study. A previous European cadaver study 19 showed that chest diameter was 253 ± 27 mm in males and 235 ± 30 mm in females. This difference in physical size might have affected the outcome of the study.…”

The uniform chest compression depth of 50 mm or greater recommended by current guidelines is not appropriate for all adults

“…Recently, the aortic pump theory, that is, that direct chest compression is predominantly directed at the aorta during adult resuscitation, was introduced by the analysis of CT images [18][19][20]. However, the mechanism of forward blood flow during CPR remains controversial, and there have been many debates on the role of the heart during CPR.…”

Compression of the Left Ventricular Outflow Tract During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

“…In only 20% of the subjects, the left ventricle was the intrathoracic structure beneath the sternum at the internipple line. Pickard et al 22 reported that the left ventricle was present under the middle of the lower half of the sternum in only 3% of cases, and the left atrium and ascending aorta were the most common structures directly below the point of chest compression. Even though both studies documented anatomic structures subjected to external chest compression in patients who were not in cardiac arrest, there is a need to investigate the cardiac structures that are subjected to compression and the dynamic changes of cardiac structures during actual CPR in patients with cardiac arrest.…”