Knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation among doctors at the Port Moresby General Hospital.

This descriptive questionnaire-based study carried out between 16 June and 30 September 2010 aimed to assess the knowledge among doctors at Port Moresby General Hospital of basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for children and adults, based on Australian Resuscitation Council Guidelines. 87 (81%) of 107 questionnaires were returned from 15 consultants (17% of respondents), 51 registrars (59%)--of whom 39 (45%) were in training--and 21 resident medical officers (24%). The respondents were based in internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and smaller disciplines (ear, nose and throat, ophthalmology, intensive care, radiology, psychiatry and pathology). Knowledge of CPR in this study population was uneven and overall inadequate. Only 51 respondents (59%) knew that basic CPR was a priority over intubation. 72 (83%) knew the correct compression: ventilation ratio for children but only 38 (44%) knew this for adults. 33 (38%) knew the correct compression rate for children and 29 (33%) for adults. 40 (46%) knew the correct compression depth for children and 35 (40%) for adults. 60 (69%) knew the sites for defibrillator pads. Knowledge of types of defibrillator and shockable rhythms was poor: 21 (24%) gave two correct arrhythmias for defibrillation and 44 (51%) gave one. Medical officers in training appeared to have better knowledge than their colleagues in postgraduate training programs. As a group, doctors working in emergency medicine, anaesthetics and intensive care had better knowledge of adult resuscitation than their counterparts in the other adult disciplines and had similar knowledge of paediatric resuscitation to that of their paediatric counterparts, although overall knowledge was incomplete in all groups. Basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS) flow charts for both children and adults should be highly visible throughout the hospital and there is a need for regular training in CPR.