Clin Exp Emerg Med.  2017 Jun;4(2):88-93. 10.15441/ceem.16.175.

Retention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills after hands-only training versus conventional training in novices: a randomized controlled trial

• Kim YJ
• Cho Y
• Cho GC
• Ji HK
• Han SY
• Lee JH

• KMID: 2385935
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.16.175

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training can improve performance during simulated cardiac arrest; however, retention of skills after training remains uncertain. Recently, hands-only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR. The purpose of this study is to compare the retention rate of CPR skills in laypersons after hands-only or conventional CPR training.
METHODS
Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 CPR training methods: 80 minutes of hands-only CPR training or 180 minutes of conventional CPR training. Each participant's CPR skills were evaluated at the end of training and 3 months thereafter using the Resusci Anne manikin with a skill-reporting software.
RESULTS
In total, 252 participants completed training; there were 125 in the hands-only CPR group and 127 in the conventional CPR group. After 3 months, 118 participants were randomly selected to complete a post-training test. The hands-only CPR group showed a significant decrease in average compression rate (P=0.015), average compression depth (P=0.031), and proportion of adequate compression depth (P=0.011). In contrast, there was no difference in the skills of the conventional CPR group after 3 months.
CONCLUSION
Conventional CPR training appears to be more effective for the retention of chest compression skills than hands-only CPR training; however, the retention of artificial ventilation skills after conventional CPR training is poor.

Keyword

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Retention (psychology); Education; Training

MeSH Terms

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation*
Education
Heart Arrest
Manikins
Retention (Psychology)
Thorax
Ventilation