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Cardiac arrest
No risky oxygen build-up at defibrillation site in CPR
Ambient oxygen enrichment during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: an overestimated risk? - Insights from a manikin study
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine · Added 12 August 2026
Mannequin study testing whether removing oxygen-delivery devices reduces ambient oxygen concentration at defibrillation sites — it found no clinically relevant oxygen accumulation, and removing devices made no difference to oxygen levels.
- Study type
- Simulation
- Design
- Controlled mannequin-based simulation study
- Participants
- 20 resuscitation scenarios; 6,555 oxygen measurements
- Main finding
- Median ambient oxygen 21.6% (IQR 21.3–22.1%); removing oxygen delivery devices >1 m did not lower oxygen concentrations; intubation and OxyDemand valve gave slightly lower fractions
- Caveat
- Mannequin simulation with limited scenarios; may not reflect real arrests with leaks or high-flow oxygen
- Bottom line
- Hypothesis-generating
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Directly challenges current ERC guideline (followed by Australian services) requiring oxygen device removal before defibrillation; could simplify CPR workflow if adopted.
Learning goal
Weigh the current evidence on disconnecting oxygen delivery during defibrillation against fire risk in resuscitation.
More
- Topic: Cardiac arrest
- Daily scan: 12 August 2026
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