AEDs in schools: lessons learned and to be learned

Advocating for Life Support Training of Children, Parents, Caregivers, School Personnel, and the Public

Pediatric cardiac arrest in the out-of-hospital setting is a traumatic event for family, friends, caregivers, classmates, and school personnel. Immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automatic external defibrillators have been shown to improve survival in adults. There is some evidence to show improved survival in children who receive immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pediatricians, in their role as advocates to improve the health of all children, are uniquely positioned to strongly encourage the training of children, parents, caregivers, school personnel, and the lay public in the provision of basic life support, including pediatric basic life support, as well as the appropriate use of automated external defibrillators.

Teaching basic life support to students of public and private high schools

BACKGROUND

Despite being recommended as a compulsory part of the school curriculum, the teaching of basic life support (BLS) has yet to be implemented in high schools in most countries.

OBJECTIVES

To compare prior knowledge and degree of immediate and delayed learning between students of one public and one private high school after these students received BLS training.

METHODS

Thirty students from each school initially answered a questionnaire on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use of the automated external defibrillator (AED). They then received theoretical-practical BLS training, after which they were given two theory assessments: one immediately after the course and the other six months later.

RESULTS

The overall success rates in the prior, immediate, and delayed assessments were significantly different between groups, with better performance shown overall by private school students than by public school students: 42% ± 14% vs. 30.2% ± 12.2%, p = 0.001; 86% ± 7.8% vs. 62.4% ± 19.6%, p < 0.001; and 65% ± 12.4% vs. 45.6% ± 16%, p < 0.001, respectively. The total odds ratio of the questions showed that the private school students performed the best on all three assessments, respectively: 1.66 (CI95% 1.26-2.18), p < 0.001; 3.56 (CI95% 2.57-4.93), p < 0.001; and 2.21 (CI95% 1.69-2.89), p < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

Before training, most students had insufficient knowledge about CPR and AED; after BLS training a significant immediate and delayed improvement in learning was observed in students, especially in private school students.