PMID: 22552558May 4, 2012Paper

Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation: knowledge, practical skills and effectiveness of maneuvers of general physicians

Revista médica de Chile
Luis RojasMsC Max Andresen

Abstract

General physicians should be adequately trained to deliver effective resuscitation during ventricular fibrillation (VF). To assess the degree of knowledge, skills and practical effectiveness in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of Chilean general physicians. Forty eight general physicians starting Anesthesiology or Internal Medicine residency programs were evaluated. They answered a modified American Heart Association Basic Life Support Course written test and individually participated in a witnessed VF cardiac arrest simulated scenario. Execution of resuscitation tasks in the correct order, the quality of the maneuvers and the use of defibrillator were registered. All participants acknowledged the importance of uninterrupted CPR and early defibrillation. Seventy five percent knew the correct frequency of chest compressions, but only 6.25% knew all the effective chest compression characteristics. Ninety eight percent knew the recommended number of breaths per cycle. In practice, 58% performed effective ventilations, 33% performed uninterrupted compressions, 14% did them with adequate frequency and only 8% performed chest compressions adequately. Forty four percent requested a defibrillator within 30 seconds and 31% delivered ...Continue Reading

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