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Airway & ventilation

Mechanical vs manual ventilation in CPR equal

Volume-controlled mechanical ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Resuscitation · Added 3 August 2026

This systematic review of 13 articles (six RCTs, seven non-randomised studies) found very low to low certainty evidence showing no significant difference in ROSC between volume-controlled mechanical ventilation and manual ventilation during CPR.

Study type
Systematic review
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science)
Participants
13 articles: six RCTs (461 patients) and seven non-randomised studies (4,607 patients)
Main finding
Meta-analysis of 120 patients from two RCTs showed no difference in ROSC for volume-controlled versus manual ventilation (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.64-2.71); certainty of evidence very low to low
Caveat
Very low to low certainty evidence; trials at low to high risk of bias, non-randomised studies at serious or critical risk
Bottom line
Context only

Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Relevant to advanced airway management during cardiac arrest, but very low certainty evidence means no practice change warranted

Learning goal

Weigh the benefits and limitations of volume-controlled mechanical ventilation during cardiac arrest resuscitation.

Open in dashboard Read the paper (DOI) PubMed

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