Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Interposed Abdominal Compression As An Adjunct To Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Charles F. Babbs, Jeffrey B. Sack, Karl B. Kern

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

The addition of interposed abdominal compression (IAC) to otherwise standard CPR provides external pressure over the abdomen in counterpoint to the rhythm of chest compression. Interposed abdominal compression is a simple manual technique that can supplement the use of adrenergic drugs to increase both coronary perfusion pressure and total blood flow during CPR. Mechanistically, manual abdominal compressions induce both central aortic and central venous pressure pulses. However, owing to differences in venous versus arterial capacitance, the former are usually greater than the latter, so that systemic perfusion pressure is enhanced. Moreover, practical experience and theoretical analysis have suggested subtle refinements …