Until six weeks ago, the chest of a person in full cardiac arrest in Fort Worth was likely to have been jarred by a paramedic with his or her palms.
Now, the personal pump is largely out.
Manual CPR has in many cases yielded to a device to handle the work. Fort Worth paramedics have begun, after a trial, to use a machine to do compressions.
Ten mechanical CPR devices have been distributed in the city and are sent with units on cardiac arrest calls, said Mike Drivdahl, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman. The device is manufactured by Defibtech and allows for hands-free CPR compressions.
The quality of pumps is better, and the effort requires fewer people.
Before the novel coronavirus pandemic, the department sent eight firefighters to a cardiac arrest call. Now four can do the direct job.
“The Defibtech device allows for continued compressions which have been proven to increase the odds of survival for the patient but does not require more hands to do those compressions,” Drivdahl wrote in a statement.
Seven of the mechanical CPR devices are with battalion chiefs.
Intubation has, in many cases, also changed. Fort Worth firefighters have begun to use video to, from about 3 feet away, see into a patient’s airway.
The department is using 15 AirTraq SP video laryngoscopy devices.
During a cardiac arrest, a person’s airway is often secured via an endotracheal tube. The current practice is to be face-to-face with the patient to see the tube pass into the patient’s airway, Drivdahl said.
“The AirTaq offers paramedics a safer alternative with a video camera that will allow them to be further away from the patient thereby reducing possible exposure.”
The department is committed to providing top care, Fire Chief James Davis wrote in a statement.
“With the assistance of the Office of the Medical Director, we are providing tools and training for our paramedics to do that.”
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