The effect of 10-min dispatch-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation training: a randomized simulation pilot study

Abstract

Background

Immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is essential for survival from sudden cardiac arrest (CA). Current CPR guidelines recommend that dispatchers assist lay rescuers performing CPR (dispatch-assisted CPR (DACPR)), which can double the frequency of bystander CPR. Laypersons, however, are not familiar with receiving CPR instructions from dispatchers. DACPR training can be beneficial for lay rescuers, but this has not yet been validated. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of simple DACPR training for lay rescuers.

Methods

We conducted a DACPR simulation pilot study. Participants who were non-health care professionals with no CPR training within 1 year prior to this study were recruited from Nara Medical University Hospital. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two 90-min adult basic life support (BLS) training course groups: DACPR group (standard adult BLS training plus an additional 10-min DACPR training) or Standard group (standard adult BLS training only). In the DACPR group, participants practiced DACPR through role-playing of a dispatcher and an emergency caller. Six months after the training, all subjects were asked to perform a 2-min CPR simulation under instructions given by off-duty dispatchers.

Results

Out of the 66 participants, 59 completed the simulation (30 from the DACPR group and 29 from the Standard group). The CPR quality was similar between the two groups. However, the median time interval between call receipt and the first dispatch-assisted compression was faster in the DACPR group (108 s vs 129 s, p = 0.042).

Conclusions

This brief DACPR training in addition to standard CPR training can result in a modest improvement in the time to initiate CPR. Future studies are now required to examine the effect of DACPR training on survival of sudden CA.