Cognitive survey of telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation among emergency personnel

Abstract

Objectives To investigate the cognition of dispatcher-initiated telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (TCPR) among emergency medical system(EMS) personnel and compare the cognition of TCPR among EMS personnel in different economic status, and to understand the current situation of TCPR cognition of EMS personnel in China. Methods This study is a multicenter cross-sectional survey. The method of multi-level convenient sampling was adopted, and the test reliability and split half reliability of the questionnaire was tested. Questionnaire survey and data collection were conducted from December 2018 to June 2019. The ethical approval number is M2018264. SPSS 20.0 was used for analysis. χ2 test was used to analyze the differences between groups. Results A total of 1 191 electronic questionnaires were collected. Of them, 80.94% respondents knew TCPR, 97.82% respondents thought that TCPR should be implemented in cardiac arrest, 36.62% respondents thought that bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality monitoring was needed in TCPR, and TCPR training courses were set up in the emergency department which recruited 25.83% respondents. Emergency personnel in developed areas had a better understanding of the criteria for judging patients' breathlessness (11.69% vs 7.89%, P=0.048), of TCPR need ncluding guidance of chest compression (92.45% vs 87.49%, P=0.012) and of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) quality monitoring including the frequency of artificial respiration (84.42% vs 74.87%, P=0.029) than those in underdeveloped areas, but there was no significant difference in other indicators (P>0.05). Conclusions TCPR knowledge of EMS personnel in China is unsatisfactory. Further training is needed to improve their understanding of the criteria for judging cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients via telephone, TCPR content and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality monitoring. There is difference in TCPR knowledge between the EMS personnel in developed and undeveloped areas in China. Key words: Emergency medical services; Telephone guidance; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Bystander; Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; Cognition; Economic status; Cross-sectional survey