The Validity of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Skills in the Emergency Department Using Video-Assisted Surveillance: An Iranian Experience

The present study was designed to evaluate the quality of CPR procedures performed in Tehran’s Rasool-e-Akram Hospital-- the first Emergency Medicine academic center in Iran-using a videotaped real-life (actual) CPR technique, with the aim of pointing out the defects and shortcomings in this regard. The performance of the CPR team in the emergency resuscitation room of Rasool-e-Akram Hospital was evaluated through videotaping. In an expert panel in the educational council of the emergency medicine group scored each item, which could be evaluated through videotaping, based on the existing guidelines. Fifty CPRs were videotaped between May to July 2008. From among the 33 CPRs which were recorded from the very first moment, 25 of them were started which the correct procedure, chest compression and ventilation, whereas procedures such as checking for pulse, getting an IV-line or intubation were performed as the first action in the remaining cases. While many believe CPR is performed properly in our center, the present study revealed that the performance is still distant from the desired ideal.