Effect of physical fatigue and smoking cigarettes on the CPR effectiveness performed by soldiers

INTRODUCTION: The witness of the event plays an important role in the diagnosis of cardiac arrest in the victim. Taking quick actions to restore basic life functions is the essence of pre-hospital assistance, and this applies not only to civilian conditions but also to combat operations. During extraordinary occurrences and civil-military cooperation, the soldier’s physical fitness and the ability to perform cardiopulmonary resus­citation effectively give a better chance to save the cardiac arrest victim’s life. The study aimed to assess the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by soldiers before and after physical activity, taking account of smoking by the examined persons. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-four soldiers took part in the study. The assessment included a 2-minute CPR performance by the soldier before and after physical activity in the Tactical Field Care zone. The Little Anne phantom was used to record CPR quality. Among the examined soldiers, 20% were active smokers. RESULTS: The research showed that the average CPR effectiveness before exercise was significantly higher than after combat operations (75% vs. 73%). The research also demonstrated that, physical fatigue signifi­cantly reduced the rate of chest compressions and the percentage of full chest recoil during CPR. Smoking had no significant effect on the quality of CPR performance. The quality of performance of the CPR compo­nents correlated with Body Mass Index (BMI), age, and time since the last training completion. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of CPR performance after combat exercise is lower than before the physical fa­tigue. While smoking does not affect CPR performance quality, other factors such as BMI, age, and time since the last training completion are relevant in this context.