Investigation of manual chest compression in CPR on the dialysis chair

Abstract Background: Heart failure is the leading cause of death in dialysis patients. Cardiac arrest due to hypotension may also occur during dialysis therapy. If cardiac arrest is elicited, manual chest compressions (MCC) should be started as soon as possible. However, if MCC is applied during the patient is being treated on the dialysis chair, the backrest of the dialysis chair is horizontal to the floor and there is no support between the backrest and the floor, so that will shake and become unstable.Methods: we investigated whether a round chair is effective for supporting the dialysis chair for MCC. Four adult males performed MCC on three dialysis chairs using a manikin. MCC was performed with 2 sets (1 set was 100 times per minute) per person, with or without a round chair. A total of 4,800 times were performed by four executors.Results: When the chair was not used as a stabilizer, the mean value of fluctuation range were 20.8 ± 8.1 mm, 18.7 ± 5.5 mm, and 12.8 ± 1.8 mm, respectively. When the chair was used, the mean value of fluctuation range were 6.1 ± 1.1 mm, 7.5 ± 2.1 mm, and 1.0 ± 0 mm, decreasing by 70%, 59%, and 92%.Conclusion: MCC with the stool under the backrest as a stabilizer was effective for dialysis chairs.