ABSTRACT
Introduction: Early and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) increases both survival rate and post-cardiac arrest quality of life. This study aims to assess the current knowledge and ability of physicians and nurses in health centers (HCs) operated by the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) in Doha, Qatar, to perform CPR. Methodology: This study consists of two parts. The first part is a descriptive cross-sectional survey using an online form targeting physicians and nurses working in all HCs to assess their CPR knowledge and attitude. The second part is a direct observation of CPR drills to evaluate the skills and competencies of code blue team members in a convenient sample of 14 HCs. A multivariate model was employed to test the independent effect of explanatory variables on the total knowledge score. Results: A total of 569 physicians and nurses responded to the survey. Only one-half (48.7%) formally received training on basic life support within the last year. Furthermore, 62.7% have tried to revive a dying person with no pulse. All the participants recognize the importance of knowing how to revive a dying adult or child as part of their job. The study showed that being a nurse was the most important predictor of a higher knowledge score in both components. Attending more resuscitation courses (3-6 courses in the last 3 years) ranked second in importance, and a longer experience in clinical practice (5-10 and >10 years) ranked third in predictive power. In addition, the direct observation of CPR drill performance revealed a satisfactory outcome. Conclusion: The level of CPR knowledge and skills practice among healthcare providers in PHCC is deemed satisfactory as most providers reported having performed CPR in the past. Considering that PHCC is the first step to people's healthcare in Qatar, clinical staff should be certified and assessed regularly to ensure retention of resuscitation knowledge and skills.
ABSTRACT
Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. This study describes the risks and outcome in COVID-19 patients with CVD attending Primary Health Care Corporationsettings in Qatar. Objective: To report whether CVD increases the risk for hospitalization and further complications in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Results: A total of 10,178 CVD patients' data who tested positive for COVID-19 were extracted from electronic medical records on the basis of inclusion criteria and analyzed during the period of February 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (11 months). Among the patients included in the study, 64% (n=6527) were men and 36% (n=3651) were women; 23% (n=2299) were Qataris and 77% (n=7879) were non-Qataris. Among the selected age group of greater than 25 to less than 75 years, the median age was 50.83 years. More than half of the patients had diabetes (69.6%; n=7086) followed by hypertension (68.4%; n=6965) and dyslipidemia (45.1%; n=4590). Other comorbidities were obesity (18.3%; n=1862), kidney disease (6.5%; n=659), hematologic problems (4.2%; n=425), liver disorders (1.4%; n=142), rheumatic heart disease (1.3%; n=131) and neurologic symptoms (1.3%; n=128). Multivariate analysis for factors associated with inpatient admissions in last 28 days for patients with CVD reported that patients with age greater than 70 years are 2.8 (1.86-4.18) times higher risk of hospital admission as compared with the patients 25-30 years of age. Conclusion: The pre-existing CVD with age and other comorbidities predict the risk for hospitalization and further complications in patients with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to investigate the data from primary and secondary care about the long-term cardiovascular outcomes of patients who have survived COVID-19.
