Effects of team coordination during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate to what extent the literature on team coordination during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) empirically confirms its positive effect on clinically relevant medical outcome.

Material and methods: A systematic literature search in PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CENTRAL databases was performed for articles published in the last 30 years.

Results: A total of 63 articles were included in the review. Planning, leadership, and communication as the three main interlinked coordination mechanisms were found to have effect on several CPR performance markers. A psychological theory-based integrative model was expanded upon to explain linkages between the three coordination mechanisms.

Conclusions: Planning is an essential element of leadership behavior and is primarily accomplished by a designated team leader. Communication affects medical performance, serving as the vehicle for the transmission of information and directions between team members. Our findings also suggest teams providing CPR must continuously verbalize their coordination plan in order to effectively structure allocation of subtasks and optimize success.

Keywords: Advanced life support; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Communication; Coordination; Leadership; Planning; Teamwork.