Abstract

Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving procedure performed by qualified rescuers. The quality of CPR depends on effective chest compression (CC) characteristics: rate, depth, hand position, and chest recoil. Besides CC, previous research has proven that physical activity level (PAL) varies among rescuers and affects CPR quality. This study aims to assess the association between PAL and the quality of continuous chest compressions-cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCC-CPR) for 5 minutes by qualified rescuers at the National Guard Hospital in Jeddah (NGHA-J).
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The global physical activity questionnaire was used to measure the participants’ PALs, and the SimMan 3G mannequin was used to measure the four CC characteristics. The recommended sample size is 45 of the rescuers at NGHA-J.
Results: A total of 45 members were involved in the study, and most participants were 27 (60%) males. Most participants are classified as having high PAL 21(46.67%). The study indicates that there is no significant effect among the PALs and the CCC-CPR effectiveness according to (p 0.65) which is determined by the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test. The optimal effective CCs between the three groups of PALs were achieved by the moderate PAL participants with a median of 47.5 (IQR 35).
Conclusion: The study findings deny any relationship between the quality of the CCC-CPR and the PAL of the rescuers.

Key words: CPR, physical activity level, continuous chest compressions, CCC-CPR, qualified rescuers.