Dispatch Implementation of AHA/ERC/ILCOR CPR Guidelines into v11.2 of the MPDS are Underway

The American Heart Association (AHA), European Resuscitation Council (ERC), and other ILCOR-affiliated resuscitation councils have released their new Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care in the December 13, 2005 issue of the AHA journal Circulation, and the November 28, 2005 issue of the ERC journal Resuscitation. The new guidelines have been summarized in the Winter 2005-2006 issue of Currents in Emergency Cardiovascular Care and may be viewed by visiting the AHA’s website at www.americanheart.org or ERC’s website at www.erc.edu These guidelines contain significant changes regarding the provision of CPR for lay and professional rescuers, both of which will influence the Academy’s standard for Dispatch-specific Life Support (DLS).

The Academy has anticipated the release of the new AHA/ERC/ILCOR guidelines and has activated the process to incorporate the recommendations that apply to the DLS environment into the Medical Priority Dispatch Protocol (MPDS). Changes to the protocol will be made as soon as the new AHA/ERC/ILCOR guidelines have been examined for dispatch relevance and applicable changes can be implemented into the existing protocol. With our representation on the AHA Emergency Cardiac Care Committee and with the help of the resuscitation experts on the Academy’s special CPR/Pre-Arrival Standards Council, the NAED has begun the process to evolve the current DLS standard of care based on the AHA/ERC/ILCOR guidelines, current DLS science, and the expert consensus of the Academy’s Boards and Councils.

Changes to the MPDS pre-arrival sequences involve thoughtful consideration, implementation, and production. Because the AHA/ERC/ILCOR guidelines are vague with regard to the DLS environment, they must be carefully translated and then incorporated into a protocol that is intricately linked to handle hundreds of patient presentations. After construction, the new protocol will be produced in the form of cardsets, ProQA and related software, and training materials and distributed to over 2,500 currently licensed MPDS v11.2 users as v11.3.

While the process of protocol evolution is being expedited by the Academy, MPDS users can be assured that the existing protocol represents the current standard of care in the dispatch environment. Just as the AHA/ERC/ILCOR and other international resuscitation organizations evaluate existing science prior to publishing their lay, field, and hospital recommendations, so must the Academy prior to producing a dispatch-specific protocol.

The Academy has long anticipated the release of the new AHA/ERC/ILCOR guidelines and, even though they have been released early, MPDS integration has already begun. As work progresses, the Academy will make every effort to update its members via the website – www.emergencydispatch.org In the meantime, use the MPDS with confidence and be assured that you are providing your patients the current DLS standard.