Objective
Healthcare providers frequently spend excessive time attempting to identify a pulse and may have difficulty accurately confirming its presence. Point-of-care carotid artery ultrasonography has been suggested as a potential alternative to manual palpation. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of manual palpation, 2D carotid ultrasonography, and rapid increases in end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) levels for determining the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with cardiac arrest presenting to an emergency department.
Methods
This was a single-center, prospective, observational study. Nontraumatic adult patients in cardiopulmonary arrest who were brought to the emergency department were included. After cardiac arrest was identified, the following data were recorded: initial arrest rhythm, ultrasonographic and manual pulse assessments, EtCO2 levels, resuscitation duration, and post-ROSC vital signs. The team leader’s judgment was used for ROSC adjudication and served as the reference standard.
Results
The investigation included 88 patients who underwent a total of 642 cycles of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The area under the curve (AUC) values for 2D carotid ultrasonography, EtCO2, and manual palpation were 0.974, 0.802, and 0.862, respectively (all P<0.001). In pairwise AUC comparisons, ultrasonography differed significantly from manual palpation (P=0.001) and EtCO2 (P<0.001), whereas manual palpation and EtCO2 did not differ significantly (P=0.167). Bedside ultrasonography for detecting a carotid pulse had a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 100%.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that 2D carotid ultrasonography can be effectively used to detect a pulse in patients with cardiopulmonary arrest.

Objective
The Korean National Fire Agency conducted a pilot project examining Advanced Life Support (ALS) protocols, including epinephrine administration, to improve survival among patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the Korean National Fire Agency ALS protocol on prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with OHCA.
Methods
This study included patients with adult-presumed cardiac arrest between January and December 2020. The main factor of interest was ambulance type according to ALS protocol, which was divided into dedicated ALS ambulance (DA), smartphone-based ALS ambulance (SALS), and non-DA, and the main analysis factor was prehospital ROSC. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed.
Results
During the study period, a total of 18,031 adult patients with OHCA was treated by the emergency medical services, including 7,520 DAs (41.71%), 2,622 SALSs (14.54%), and 7,889 non-DAs (43.75%). The prehospital ROSC ratio was 13.19% for DA, 11.17% for SALS, and 7.91% for non-DA (P<0.01). Compared with that of the DA group, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for prehospital ROSC ratio were 0.97 (0.82–1.15) in the SALS group and 0.57 (0.50–0.65) in the non-DA group. The prehospital ROSC ratio of the DA group was higher than those of the non-DA group and the SALS group.
Conclusion
ALS protocol intervention was associated with prehospital ROSC rates. Therefore, continuous efforts to promote systemic implementation of the ALS protocol to improve OHCA outcomes are necessary.