Study of CPR machine stops

The patient survival rate was lower than with manual treatment.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Researchers halted a study of automated CPR machines after preliminary results showed a lower survival rate for patients treated with the devices.
The study -- led in Ohio by Dr. Michael Sayre, an emergency physician at the Ohio State University Medical Center -- tested the AutoPulse in ambulances in five cities. Researchers expected the machines, which fit over the chest and deliver a steady pulse, would outperform medical staff who can become inconsistent or exhausted when delivering CPR.
"It was just the opposite of what we would anticipate happening," Dr. Sayre said.
The study began in June 2004, and researchers intended to examine 1,850 patients -- half using the AutoPulse and half using manual resuscitation.
Inconclusive findings
But researchers halted the study when they found that only 6 percent of the 394 patients treated with the device survived. About 10 percent of the 373 patients manually treated survived.
Dr. Sayre and other researchers presented their findings Saturday at the American Heart Association's annual Scientific Sessions in Dallas.
Richard Packer, CEO of Chelmsford, Mass.-based Zoll Medical Corp., which sells the $14,000 machines, called the results inconclusive because the trial was not completed. He said the company plans to conduct more research.
"We continue to believe that it represents a major advancement in resuscitation technology," Packer said in a statement.
Results showed a similar four-hour survival rate for patients treated for heart problems. However, fewer of those treated with the AutoPulse left the hospital alive.
"There could be something going on that we don't understand," Dr. Sayre said, adding that the assembly time required for the device's use could have hurt its performance.
The AutoPulse study was conducted in Columbus; suburban Pittsburgh; Seattle; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.
The AutoPulse is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is used in several communities.