An 84-year-old male patient collapsed outside. A passer-by witnessed the incident, notified emergency services and commenced CPR. The time between call and arrival of the fire service was eight minutes. Initial rhythm strip analysis demonstrated asystole. The resuscitator was attached immediately to a facemask by a firefighter (Figure 7 ).\nThe patient received a ventilation rate of 100 breaths per minute. This rate corresponds with the MCCD frequency, and ventilation was being triggered in each decompression phase. The drop in the ventilation rate in the initial part was due to a leak in the airway circuit. During the period of automatic ventilation, oxygen saturation was between 80 and 90%. Thus, the patient was adequately ventilated. The etCO2 ranged between 22–30 mmHg from the beginning of the recording till 23:28 minutes after, suggesting good-quality CPR with adequate circulation. During resuscitation, the patient received intravenous epinephrine. After 23:28 min there was an increase in etCO2 up to 43 mmHg, an early indicator of ROSC. The steep decrease afterwards was due to the cessation of ventilation and chest compressions, and hence a cessation in CO2 exhalation. The patient had an ROSC after 25 minutes and was transported to a nearby hospital.
A 55-year-old intoxicated male patient collapsed outside. The paramedic ambulance was first on scene, and initial resuscitation was commenced. Initially, the patient was ventilated manually via a facemask and bag. Upon arrival of the fire service, LUCAS 2® and Oxylator® HD were attached (Figure 4 ).\nIn this case the patient was ventilated manually for the first three minutes with a respiratory frequency of 16–19 breaths per minute. Initially, etCO2 was 20 mmHg decreasing to 15 mmHg in the first three minutes. Oxygen saturation was between 60% and 80%. After three minutes the respiratory rate increased to 100 breaths per minute by activating the automatic mode of the Oxylator® HD. Later on, the respiratory rate decreased to 30 breaths/minute, due to a leak or airway obstruction. The end-tidal CO2 increased when in automatic mode to 15–30 mmHg. The oxygen saturation was recorded for a short period of time and was 79%. The patient was defibrillated twice, and epinephrine was administered. After 30 minutes of CPR, the patient was declared deceased by the emergency physician.