Comparison between an Instructor-led Course and Training Using a Voice Advisory Manikin in Initial Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Skill Acquisition

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Purpose: We compared the outcomes of training between the use of voice-advisory manikin (VAM) and instructor-led (IL) courses with respect to the acquisition of initial cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, as defined by the 2010 resuscitation guidelines. METHODS: This study was a randomized, controlled, blinded, parallel-group trial. We recruited 82 first-year emergency medical technician students and randomly distributed them into two groups the IL group (n=41) and the VAM group (n=37). In the IL group, participants were trained in “single-rescuer, adult CPR” in accordance with the American Heart Association's Basic Life Support course for healthcare providers. In the VAM group, all subjects received a 20-minute lesson about CPR. After the lesson, each student trained individually with the VAM for 1 hour, receiving real-time feedback. After the training, all subjects were evaluated as they performed basic CPR (30 compressions, 2 ventilations) for 4 minutes. RESULTS: The proportion of participants with a mean compression depth ≥50 mm was 34.1% in the IL group and 27.0% in the VAM group, and the proportion with a mean compression depth ≥40 mm had increased significantly in both groups compared with ≥50 mm (IL group, 82.9%; VAM group, 86.5%). However, no significant differences were detected between the two groups in this regard. The proportion of ventilations of the appropriate volume was relatively low in both groups (IL group, 26.4%; VAM group, 12.5%; p=0.396). CONCLUSION: Both methods the IL training using a practice-while-watching video and the VAM training facilitated initial CPR skill acquisition, especially in terms of correct chest compression.