A comparison of the relative efficiency of the schafer and pole-top methods of artificial respiration

The pole-top method of artificial respiration was devised by E. W. Oesterreich¹ of the Duquesne Light Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., to give prompt aid in case of electric shock occurring while men are working on poles of power lines. When a worker receives an electric shock while working on a pole minutes elapse before he can be lowered to the ground and resuscitation started by the prone-pressure method. In the field, the elapsed time is seldom less than five minutes² and in many cases it is considerably longer. The pole-top method of resuscitation was developed to reduce this period. Tests have shown that an operator can reach a man working alone on a pole and start squeezing his abdomen within approximately one minute.² If there are two men on the pole and one receives a shock the elapsed time before the first pressure is applied is much shorter. While an operator is applying the pole-top method, other members of the line crew make preparation for lowering the victim to the ground where the prone-pressure method may be applied, should it prove necessary.