The feasibility of emergency medical technicians performing intermittent high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Background: Whether intermittent chest compressions have an effect on the quality of CPR is worthy of discussion. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the chest compression quality of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with different rest intervals. Methods: Seventy male firefighters with EMT licenses participated in this study. Participants completed body composition measurements and three CPR quality tests, as follows: (1) CPR-uninterrupted for 10 minutes; (2) after 2 days of rest, CPR 10s-intermittent (CPR-10s), for 2 minutes each time and 5 cycles; (3) after another 2 days of rest, CPR 20s-intermittent (CPR-20s), for 2 minutes each time and 5 cycles. Results: Body composition results showed that body mass (BM), body mass index (BMI), upper limb muscle mass (ULMM), core muscle mass (CMM), and upper limb-core muscle mass (UL+CMM) were positively correlated with chest compression depth (CCD) (p < 0.05). Analysis of the three different modes of CPR quality analysis indicated significant differences in the chest compression fraction (CCF, F = 6.801, p = 0.001), chest compression rebound rate (CCRR, F = 3.919, p = 0.021), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, F = 23.815, p < 0.001). Among the different performance cycles of CPR-10s, significant differences were found in CCF, CCD, CCR (chest compression rate), and RPE (p < 0.05). On the other hand, among the different performance cycles of CPR-20s, significant differences were found in CCD, CCR, and RPE (p < 0.05). Moreover, the CCF, CCD, and RPE scores of the two tests reached significant differences in specific phases (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study confirmed that the upper limb muscle mass or the weight of the upper body of EMTs is positively correlated with the quality of CPR. In addition, intermittent chest compressions with safe interruption intervals can reduce fatigue caused by long-term chest compressions and maintain better chest compression quality.