A new piece of medical equipment created at the University of Alberta may help doctors in delivering CPR. It provides a quicker and safer way to resuscitate patients who go into cardiac arrest due to COVID-19.
The novel coronavirus can create complications in the lungs, and many patients are placed on their bellies to improve ventilation.
Matthew Douma, an assistant adjunct professor of critical care medicine at the U and A stated that if a patient goes into cardiac arrest, doctors have to turn them onto their backs to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR.
Turning patients can cause delays and put doctors at risk because they have closer contact with infected patients.
Douma is part of a group that has created a new CPR board that can be placed under patients while they are prone, with a piece that adds pressure to the chest area while medical staff does compressions on their backs.
The U and A shared that 10,000 people have already downloaded the design for the board and five hospitals in Brazil are using it.
Importance of first aid training
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) can save a life. Prompt delivery of life-saving techniques improves the chances of survival during emergencies.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in first aid and CPR class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/resources/what-is-cpr