New Resuscitation Method for Infants in Cardiac Arrest

The two-thumb cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) method works better than the two-finger method for infants in cardiac arrest, according to three studies conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (UP, PA, USA). The studies concluded that the two-thumb method produced significantly higher systolic blood pressure, higher coronary perfusion pressure, and a higher sternal compression force than the two-finger method, thereby efficiently increasing blood flow to the heart and body. The two-thumb method is included in new emergency guidelines announced by the American Heart Association (AHA).

The two-thumb method works by placing both thumbs on the lower third of the infant's sternum with the fingers cradled around the infant's back and chest. A total of five compressions are done, alternating with one breath of mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. The UP researchers explain that this technique works better because it combines simultaneous sternal compression with lateral compression, or squeezing of the chest, unlike the two-finger method, which uses only the sternal compression. The two-thumb method is also easier to perform because it causes less finger fatigue.

The three major causes of infant cardiac arrest are respiratory arrest, sudden infant death syndrome, and drowning. The AHA recommends two-finger compression for infants in cardiac arrest. Based on the UP studies, however, the AHA has included the two-thumb method as an acceptable and alternative means of infant CPR in its new guidelines.

"We believe the two-thumb technique is both an easier and more effective method of infant CPR,” said Jim Menegazzi, Ph.D., research associate professor of emergency medicine at UP School of Medicine and principal investigator of the studies. "With further clinical trials, we will be able to prove this method is superior to the current two-finger method.”