Nationwide survey of resuscitation education in Finland.

AIMS: Good-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is highlighted in the International Resuscitation Guidelines, but clinically the quality of CPR is often poor. Education of CPR has a major role in the primary skills imparted to students. Different methods can be used to teach CPR quality. We evaluated the current status of their usage in Finland institutes teaching students of emergency medicine at different levels. METHODS: The following institutes were included in an anonymous survey: medical schools (teaching future physicians), universities of applied sciences (paramedics), colleges (emergency medical technicians) and emergency services college (fire-fighters). Hours of teaching theory lessons of CPR and hours of small group training were evaluated. In particular, we focussed on the teaching methods for adequate chest compression rate and depth. RESULTS: Twenty-one of 30 institutes responded to the questionnaire. The median for hours of theory lessons of CPR was 8h (range: 2-28 h). The median for hours of small group training was 10 (range: 3-40 h). The methods of teaching adequate chest compression rate were instructors' visual estimation in 28.5% of the institutions, watch in 33.3%, metronome in 9.5% and manikins' graphic in 28.5% of institutions. The methods of teaching adequate chest compression depth were instructors' visual estimation in 33.3%, in manikins light indicators in 23.8% and manikins' graphics in 52.3% of institutions. CONCLUSION: The hours of theoretic lessons and small group training vary widely among different institutes. In one-third of institutions, the instructor's visual estimation was a sole method used to teach adequate chest compression rate and depth. Different technical methods were surprisingly seldom used.

Airway management in cardiac arrest--comparison of the laryngeal tube, tracheal intubation and bag-valve mask ventilation in emergency medical training.

Tracheal intubation (ETI) is considered the method of choice for securing the airway and for providing effective ventilation during cardiac arrest. However, ETI requires skills which are difficult to maintain especially if practised infrequently. The laryngeal tube (LT) has been successfully tested and used in anaesthesia and in simulated cardiac arrest in manikins. To compare the initiation and success of ventilation with the LT, ETI and bag-valve mask (BVM) in a cardiac arrest scenario, 60 fire-fighter emergency medical technician (EMT) students formed teams of two rescuers at random and were allocated to use these devices. We found that the teams using the LT were able to initiate ventilation more rapidly than those performing ETI (P < 0.0001). The LT and ETI provided equal minute volumes of ventilation, which was significantly higher than that delivered with the BVM (P < 0.0001). Our data suggest that the LT may enable airway control more rapidly and as effectively as ETI, and compared to BVM, may provide better minute ventilation when used by inexperienced personnel.

The effect of seeing the rhythm display on performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Semiautomated external defibrillators are widely used by prehospital emergency personnel. Some of the devices have a rhythm display and some show only text commands on the screen. To evaluate the effects on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance of seeing the rhythm during resuscitation, 60 fire-fighter students were randomly divided in two groups and trained to use either a defibrillator with a rhythm display or one without a display. The students in both groups formed teams of two rescuers, and their performance of CPR on a manikin was tested using a predefined rhythm sequence in a simulated cardiac arrest situation. The teams using a defibrillator with a rhythm display more often interrupted CPR for pulse checks than those who did not see the rhythm (P=0.003). The duration of CPR between rhythm analyses was shorter in the group who saw the rhythm on the screen (P=0.002). Our data suggest that seeing an organised rhythm on a monitor during CPR interferes with adherence to CPR algorithms which may have a negative influence on the performance of CPR.