To interrupt, or not to interrupt chest compressions for ventilation: that is the question!

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is one of the leading causes of death in the industrialized world, with an average global incidence of 55 cases per 100,000 person-year (1). OHCA is a major public health problem. Every 5 years leading institutions like the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) publish the resuscitation guidelines, with treatment recommendations for OHCA based on a comprehensive review of the available scientific evidence. Despite the therapeutical advances introduced by the guidelines over the years survival remains dismally low, with average survival rates to hospital discharge below 6% for all cases, and below 12% for patients presenting initial shockable rhythms (1).