Teaching cards as low-cost and brief materials for teaching basic life support to 6-10-year-old primary school children - a quasi-experimental combination design study.

AIM: Teaching Basic Life Support (BLS) in schools is a key initiative to improve the survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Low-cost training materials can reach a wider population. Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of using teaching cards with the traditional instructor-led and combined methods on BLS skills and attitude and to evaluate the long-term effects after two months. METHODS: A quasi-experimental combination design study. Two hundred sixty-three schoolchildren aged 6 to 10 years were assigned to three groups with different methods to teach BLS: teaching card group (n = 100), traditional instructor-led teaching group (n = 91), combined teaching group (n = 72). BLS skills and attitude were measured and compared before the training (T0), after the training (T1), and two months later (T2). RESULTS: BLS skills improved in every group at T1 compared to T0 (p < 0.001) and remained higher at T2 than at T0 in almost all cases (p < 0.001). Skill performance was similar in most of the skills between the three groups at T1. The best skill scores acquired were calling the ambulance and the correct hand position by chest compression. Positioning the head during check the breathing was more effective in the traditional group (48.4%) and combined group (61.1%) than in the teaching card group (19.0%) (p < 0.001) at T1. However, some skills improved significantly in the teaching card group at T2: check breathing for 10 s (p = 0.016); positioning the head by check breathing (p < 0.001); and positioning the head by ventilation (p = 0.011). Attitude did not change significantly in any of the groups (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the level of attitude was inferior in the teaching card group compared with the traditional (p = 0.005), and the combined groups (p = 0.049). CONCLUSION: Using low-cost materials for teaching BLS for young schoolchildren can improve their skills, however, could not improve attitudes. Teaching cards were not inferior compared to traditional and combined methods in some skills but inferior in others. Therefore, hands-on training opportunity is still important. Teaching cards are useful for long-term learning. To learn correctly the whole sequence of BLS is difficult for 6 to 10 years-old children, however, they are able to learn more BLS-related skills separately.

How effective are chest compressions when wearing mask? A randomised simulation study among first-year health care students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The resuscitation guidelines provided for the COVID-19 pandemic strongly recommended wearing personal protective equipment. The current study aimed to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of chest compressions and the level of fatigue while wearing two different types of mask (surgical vs. cloth). METHODS: A randomized, non-inferiority, simulation study was conducted. Participants were randomised into two groups: surgical mask group (n = 108) and cloth mask group (n = 108). The effectiveness (depth and rate) of chest compressions was measured within a 2-min continuous chest-compression-only CPR session. Data were collected through an AMBU CPR Software, a questionnaire, recording vital parameters, and using Borg-scale related to fatigue (before and after the simulation). For further analysis the 2-min session was segmented into 30-s intervals. RESULTS: Two hundred sixteen first-year health care students participated in our study. No significant difference was measured between the surgical mask and cloth mask groups in chest compression depth (44.49 ± 10.03 mm vs. 45.77 ± 10.77 mm), rate (113.34 ± 17.76/min vs. 111.23 ± 17.51/min), and the level of fatigue (5.72 ± 1.69 vs. 5.56 ± 1.67) (p > 0.05 in every cases). Significant decrease was found in chest compression depth between the first 30-s interval and the second, third, and fourth intervals (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of chest compressions (depth and rate) was non-inferior when wearing cloth mask compared to wearing surgical mask. However, the effectiveness of chest compressions decreased significantly in both groups during the 2-min chest-compression-only CPR session and did not reach the appropriate chest compression depth range recommended by the ERC.

[Help from a distance - The present and the future of video-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation]. / Segítség a távolból ­ A videoasszisztált újraélesztés jelene és jövoje.

Quick and high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation has an important role in the survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In the majority of the cases, the victim is detected by a layperson. Usually, the ratio of giving help is lower than expected. Dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation can improve the helping attitude and the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation by giving instructions during the emergency call. Telephone-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation is widely available worldwide. In addition, video-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation provides the possibility of not only voice-based but also video-based communication. This can provide real-time feedback from the scene, the victim and the bystander. Previous simulation studies showed the advantages of video-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The technology is available in some countries in the real-life health care system. Despite positive effects, we need to examine also less studied aspects which can influence the effectiveness of the technology such as camera position, quality of the video, environmental factors, and the knowledge and attitude of dispatchers and bystanders related to video-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Clarifying these factors is important because the availability of technology in itself is not a guarantee of successful implementation. In conclusion, the establishment of a national CPR register is suggested. The introduction of the V-CPR method requires studies conducted in a domestic environment. It is recommended to form a professional consensus working group, involving all relevant experts to develop V-CPR guidelines. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(1): 11-18.

Changes of first-aid attitude during the COVID­19 pandemic / Az elsosegélynyújtási attitud változása a COVID-19-járvány idején.

Összefoglaló. Az új típusú koronavírus (SARS-CoV-2 ) okozta járvány hirtelen megnövekedett betegszámai és halálozásai komoly kihívás elé állították az egészségügyi ellátás minden színterét. A magas idofaktorú kórképek ellátásában a laikusok által végzett elsosegélynyújtás alapveto fontosságú a beteg túlélése és maradandó egészségkárosodásának elkerülése szempontjából. Az áttekintés célja rávilágítani arra, hogy a SARS-CoV-2 okozta járvány idején az elso észlelok által megkezdett azonnali beavatkozások késlekedése mögött az elsosegélynyújtói attitud változása feltételezheto. A társadalmilag fontos elsosegélynyújtás fenntartása érdekében az Európai Újraélesztési Tanács is módosította az elsosegélyre, az alapveto, eszköz nélküli újraélesztésre vonatkozó irányelveit, továbbá ajánlásokat fogalmazott meg a járvány idején a biztonságos elsosegélynyújtás oktatásával kapcsolatban. A hazai adaptáció érdekében a jelen áttekintés összefoglalja a legfontosabb eljárásrendi szempontokat, kiegészítéseket, és kitér azok gyakorlati alkalmazhatóságára is. Az eljárásrendek változásának legfobb célja, hogy a segítségnyújtói szándékot a koronavírus-járvány elotti motiváltsági szintre lehessen visszahozni és azt tovább fokozni szakszeru oktatási anyagok és korszeru módszerek révén. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(15): 571-578. Summary. The sudden increase in the number of patients and deaths from this novel type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic poses a serious challenge to all arenas of health care delivery system. The care of high-time dependent-factor illnesses is essential for the survival of a patient and the need for avoiding impairment of health. The purpose of the review is to highlight that a change in first-aid attitudes can be assumed behind the delay in immediate interventions initiated by first responders during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. To maintain socially important first aid, the European Resuscitation Council amended its guidelines on first aid, basic life support and made further recommendations at the time of pandemic on first-aid education, too. For effective domestic adaptation, the present overview summarises the most important aspects of guidelines and their supplements and also covers their practical implementations. The main purpose of the change in guidelines is to bring the willingness of the first responders back to the level before the coronavirus pandemic, and to further enhance it with professional educational materials and modern methods. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(15): 571-578.