Developing and Testing a Protocol for Managing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation of Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19: In Situ Simulation Study.
Azizeh Sowan, Jenny Heins, Christopher Dayton and 3 others
PMID 35675629WHAT IT FOUND
In-hospital simulation of CPR for suspected COVID-19 cases identified critical workflow gaps.
Two-way radios and a dedicated isolation medication package improved communication and speed compared to phones or bringing the full crash cart into the room.
Key findings
01Two-way radios were more effective than hospital phones or call lights for communication between in-room and out-of-room teams.
02Bringing the full crash cart into the isolation room caused delays; a pre-packed isolation medication package resolved this.
03Adding a third nurse to the in-room team allowed for rotation of chest compressions and better task completion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a well-resourced, high-tech Level I trauma magnet facility, so findings may not apply to settings with fewer resources. The study did not measure actual CPR quality metrics, time to intubation, or survival outcomes. Simulation performance may not reflect real-life cardiac arrest situations due to the Hawthorne effect or lack of true stress. The sample size was small (46 participants across 4 sessions) and limited to one hospital.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these protocols improve patient survival rates. The study tested workflow and communication in simulations, not clinical outcomes in real cardiac arrests.