CPR question

Well considering 200 bpm would be more than 3 compressions per second, I'm seriously doubting the compressions were that fast.

It should be AT LEAST 100 compressions per minute, like you said. The more the better, as long as the chest is allowed to recoil completely in between compressions. As long as a human is doing compressions I think it would be difficult to go too fast if you do compressions with appropriate recoil.

Probably just adrenaline. One of our doctors does CPR so hard that the patient flies off the bed with each recoil!

I have never seen a physician do chest compressions... but I admittedly don't get out much. I'd rather they give orders and stuff. Maybe start a central line.

For myself, I get absolutely wiped out doing compressions and I cannot really imagine someone achieving 200 a minute - at least not for very long. Its hard to sustain the minimum, adequately, for very long.

Haha. This. I have seen it once. We were letting a group of students get some experience during a code and they weren't going quite deep enough so one (LARGE) attending walked over and pushed them out of the way, did one big compression (we heard ALL the ribs break at once) and walked away letting them start again. Other than that, it's just the RNs and sometimes RTs that do compressions. And doing it to the beat of staying alive is more of an "at least do it this fast" pace. As fast as possible is best as long as the chest recoils allowing blood to fill the chambers. 200/min sounds impossible. It would be 3.3 per second like wooh said. I don't think he would have been compressing deep enough for it to be worthwhile. 2/second is about optimal. Once you do it a few times you'll get the feel for it... and be sooooo sore the next day. Haha.

So interesting. I work in peds and I certainly have seen physicians do compressions. When the code is going we get "compressiors" lined up ready to go. We have two docs "running" it - usually the ICU fellow with the attending overseeing them and to step in if needed. One extra doc might be writing orders but otherwise they are compressing. And if the kid is going to get opened up for ecmo we prefer the physicians to do cardiac massage (though I've seen nurses do it and would do it myself if needed). Also in peds, especially the neonates, we aim for a rate of 120, once the person doing compressions starts to die out they are immediately changed out. We are very good at sticking to the two minute rule.

I've even been in codes where extra doctors just turned up out of the blue, from the cath lab, clinic, etc. If they were available they show up and the male physicians really try to help out, especially on our bigger patients. With kids I guess it's all about what we can do to preserve that neuro function, as soon as the code starts they head is packed in ice and we keep our compressiors rotating. The most recent code we had actually was a 21 minutes code, the surgeon had the knife to her little chest to cut in for ecmo when she returned. Two days later she went for MRI and she didn't have a SINGLE abnormality or area of damage. We even had the AD doing compressions on her! Pretty amazing we thought

Just one of the many differences between community hospitals and teaching ones.