Abstract 134: The Impact Of Alcohol Use On The Quality Of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Prespecified Analysis Of A Randomised Trial

Objectives: Despite the undisputed impact of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in cardiac arrest, it is debated whether one should act as a rescuer after alcohol consumption, due to the perceived adverse effects. We provide the first objective data on the impact of alcohol use on CPR-quality and performance. Methods: Adult attendees of the Lowlands music festival (August 2019, the Netherlands) were randomized to virtual reality or face-to-face CPR-training. Randomisation was stratified according to alcohol level, measured using certified breathalyser tests. Alcohol levels are reported using the European unit of measure (‰), which is a factor of 10 higher than the US unit of measurement (%). Participants with an alcohol level ≥0.5‰ were only randomized if they successfully completed a tandem gait test. We studied three groups: alcohol level of 0‰ (Group 1), between 0 and 0.5‰ (Group 2) and ≥0.5‰ (Group 3). Results: We studied 352 participants, 56% female and median age 26 (22-31) years, with n=214 in Group 1, n=85 in Group 2 and n=53 in Group 3. There were no significant differences in compression depth and rate between the three study groups (depth: 57 [49-59] vs. 57 [51-60] vs. 55mm [47-59], p=0.16; rate: 115 [104-121] vs. 114 [106-122] vs. 111min -1 [95-120], p=0.19), see also Figure 1. There was no significant difference in the proportions complying with guideline-endorsed depth or rate or in the overall CPR-scenario performance score. There were no significant correlations between alcohol level and compression depth (Spearman’s rho -0.113, p=0.19) or rate (Spearman’s rho -0.073, p=0.39). Conclusion: In this study on recently trained festival attendees, we found no association between alcohol level and CPR-quality or performance. These findings indicate that alcohol intake may not be a barrier for performing potentially lifesaving CPR.