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Cardiac arrest

Shorter pulse checks linked to more ROSC

Association Between Capnographic Changes During Pulse Checks of Varying Durations and Clinical Outcomes During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Multicenter Study From Türkiye (CaPTuRe)
Resuscitation · 2026-10 · Added 22 October 2026

A 252-patient quasi-randomised multicentre study in Türkiye found pulse checks completed within 5 seconds were associated with roughly double the ROSC rate of checks lasting 6–10 seconds (36.3% vs 19.5%, OR 2.39), alongside better capnographic dynamics.

Study type

Other

Design

Multicentre prospective quasi-randomised controlled study

Participants

252 cardiac arrest patients (124 with ≤5-second checks, 128 with 6–10-second checks)

Main finding

Shorter pulse checks were linked to higher ROSC (36.3% vs 19.5%; OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.35–4.24) and more favourable ETCO2 loss and recovery patterns

Caveat

Quasi-randomised, not truly randomised, so healthier arrests may have had quicker checks; the abstract doesn't say whether arrests were in or out of hospital

Bottom line

Hypothesis-generating

Learning goal

Improve my technique for keeping pulse checks brief during cardiac arrest resuscitation while interpreting capnography trends.

More

• Topic: Cardiac arrest
• Daily scan: 22 October 2026
• Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 22 October 2026

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