J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2020 Aug;31(4):339-345.

Simulation study about cardiac arrest recognition of emergency medical dispatcher using video call

• Kwon T
• Cho Y
• Lee J
• Cho GC
• Lee C

Abstract

Objective
Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation is important for the survival of cardiac arrest patients. The rapid recognition of cardiac arrest by dispatchers leads to quicker initiation of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This study examines the use of video phone by dispatchers in recognizing cardiac arrest.
Methods
Between June to October 2018, 227 participants were recruited (114 lay people and 113 dispatchers) for this study. Lay people participants answered prepared questionnaires after watching 6 scenario video clips of a collapsed virtual patient with unresponsiveness. Dispatchers were divided into two groups: audio call group and video call group. The audio call group judged for occurrence of a cardiac arrest in the 6 scenarios, referring only to questionnaires of the lay people. The video call group judged the same scenarios referring to questionnaires and scenario video clips. The score of correct answers of each scenario was subsequently analyzed.
Results
Significant difference was obtained for the total score among the audio call group and the video call group (3.67 ±1.3 vs. 4.66±1.11, respectively; P<0.001). In 2 scenarios concerning cardiac arrest with gasping, the correct answer rate was higher in the video call group (63.9% vs. 85.2%, P<0.001; 59.5% vs. 74.8%, P=0.014). In 2 other scenarios showing non-cardiac arrest with normal breathing, the correct answer rate was also higher in the video call group (52.7% vs. 71.4, P=0.010; 38.2% vs. 63.6%, P<0.001).
Conclusion
This study determined that compared to the audio call group, dispatchers of the video call group were more accurate in recognizing cardiac arrest. This indicates that video phones are more helpful in determining gasping and in discerning cardiac arrest with syncope or seizure.

Keyword

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Cardiac arrest; Recognition; Dispatcher