Journal Article

Comparison of the quality of basic life support provided by rescuers trained using the 2005 or 2010 ERC guidelines

Thorne, Christopher J, Jones, Christopher M, Hulme, Jonathan, Owen, Andrew

2012

Overview

Introduction Effective delivery of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and prompt defibrillation following sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is vital. Updated guidelines for adult basic life support (BLS) were published in 2010 by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) in an effort to improve survival following SCA. There has been little assessment of the ability of rescuers to meet the standards outlined within these new guidelines. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of the performance of first year healthcare students trained and assessed using either the new 2010 ERC guidelines or their 2005 predecessor, within the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. All students were trained as lay rescuers during a standardised eight hour ERC-accredited adult BLS course. Results We analysed the examination records of 1091 students. Of these, 561 were trained and assessed using the old 2005 ERC guidelines and 530 using the new 2010 guidelines. A significantly greater proportion of candidates failed in the new guideline group (16.04% vs. 11.05%; p < 0.05), reflecting a significantly greater proportion of lay-rescuers performing chest compressions at too fast a rate when trained and assessed with the 2010 rather than 2005 guidelines (6.04% vs. 2.67%; p < 0.05). Error rates for other skills did not differ between guideline groups. Conclusions The new ERC guidelines lead to a greater proportion of lay rescuers performing chest compressions at an erroneously fast rate and may therefore worsen BLS efficacy. Additional study is required in order to define the clinical impact of compressions performed to a greater depth and at too fast a rate.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: 2005 AD / 2005 European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines / 2010 AD / 2010 European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines / Adolescent / Adult / Analysis / Basic life support (BLS) / Cardiac arrest / Cardiopulmonary resuscitation / Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) / Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - education / Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - standards / Care and treatment / CPR / Dentistry / Emergency Medicine / Emergency Responders - education / Female / Humans / Life Support Care - standards / Life support systems (Critical care) / Lifesaving / Male / Medical care / Medical personnel / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Original Research / Physical therapy / Practice guidelines (Medicine) / Practice Guidelines as Topic - standards / Quality management / Quality of Health Care - standards / Rescue Work - standards / Retrospective Studies / Skills / Students / Training / Traumatic Surgery / United Kingdom / Young Adult