Highlights of the Citizen CPR Foundation’s Virtual Summit – EMSWorld

New science, innovations, and guidelines surrounding resuscitation strategies for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) develop at a rapid pace, and the Citizen CPR Foundation (CCPRF) is dedicated to ensuring lay rescuers and the healthcare community are kept up to date.

CCPRF was founded in 1987 with a vision to strengthen the Chain of Survival following sudden cardiac arrest by educating lay rescuers, dispatchers, EMTs and paramedics, emergency department personnel, and specialists in intensive care units. The foundations biennial Emergency Cardiovascular Care Update (ECCU) Conference transformed into the Cardiac Arrest Survival Summit and this year to simply the Citizen CPR Foundation Virtual Summit, which was held Dec. 89, 2020.

Robert Neumar, MD, PhD, chair of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, opened the plenary session by presenting highlights of the 2020 resuscitation guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) and International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) during his talk Science and Controversies Behind the 2020 Guidelines."

ILCOR was formed in 1992 to provide a forum for liaison between principal resuscitation organizations worldwide, including AHA, the European Resuscitation Council, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Resuscitation Council of Asia, and many others.

ILCORs mission is that how someone is treated after cardiac arrest should not depend on where it occurs, said Neumar, cochair of ILCOR. Worldwide resuscitation experts convene into specific task forcesBLS, pediatrics, first aid, and othersto review available science and compile treatment recommendations. Their findings are published and disseminated through academic journals.

Whats new in the guidelines for 2020?

Basic Life Support (BLS):

Advanced Life Support (ALS):

Pediatrics:

Following Neumars talk, Raina Merchant, MD, LMSHP, FAHA, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, stressed the unique confluence of COVID-19 and social unrest has affected millions globally and has created a national reckoning to respond, react, and resuscitate to save lives.

Resuscitation science is more critical now than ever, said Merchant, who served as chair of the AHAs Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. We have to know the data. Trends to watch, according to Merchant, include drone-delivered AEDs and high-tech learning including CPR feedback devices, high-fidelity manikins, and gamifications. We are at an incredibly unique time in history, Merchant said.

Other quick hits from the conference:

Session recordings from the Virtual Summit 2020 will be available for 45 days following the conference. Visit citizencpr.org/virtualsummit2020-ccprf.

Jonathan Bassett, MA, NREMT, is editorial director of EMS World. Reach him at jon@emsworld.com.

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Highlights of the Citizen CPR Foundation's Virtual Summit - EMSWorld