TomB
Forum Captain
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There is no consensus definition of Pit Crew CPR (whereas High Performance CPR is generally understood to be "the Seattle way"). In any event, the AHA ECC Guidelines tell us "what to do" but not "how to do it". In the early days of Pit Crew CPR some folks complained that we "weren't following the guidelines" (especially for those who erroneously believed we were doing so-called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation (CCR) -- i.e., continuous chest compressions with the patient on a non-rebreather mask. Our approach is a bit of a hybrid. The problem is that we generally don't show up on scene with a fully assembled BVM attached to capnography in our hand. We have to open up a bag and build that circuit which takes a little bit of time. In in the meantime, we're performing continuous chest compressions while we're powering on the LIFEPAK, extending the cables, and applying the pads. Anyone who trains extensively on resuscitation, measures performance, and strives to hit benchmarks is performing Pit Crew CPR (by any other name). In my personal opinion, it is not necessary to have a "CPR triangle" and it need not be a deal breaker that every person has "one job and one job only." Those are perfectly acceptable approaches but if you are achieving your goals with a highly choreographed model than you are meeting the intent which is to deliver optimal care.