Marie-Louise Södersved Källestedt

Hospital employees' theoretical knowledge on what to do in an in-hospital cardiac arrest.

BackgroundGuidelines recommend that all health care professionals should be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), including the use of an automated external defibrillator. Theoretical knowledge of CPR is then necessary.The aim of this study was to investigate how much theoretical knowledge in CPR would increase among all categories of health care professionals lacking training in CPR, in an intervention hospital, after a systematic standardised training. Their results were compared with the staff at a control hospital with an ongoing annual CPR training programme.MethodsHealth care professionals at two hospitals, with a total of 3144 employees, answered a multiple-choice questionnaire before and after training in CPR. Bootstrapped chi-square tests and Fishers exact test were used for the statistical analyses.ResultsIn the intervention hospital, physicians had the highest knowledge pre-test, but other health care professionals including nurses and assistant nurses reached a relatively high level post-test. Improvement was inversely related to the level of previous knowledge and was thus most marked among other health care professionals and least marked among physicians.The staff at the control hospital had a significantly higher level of knowledge pre-test than the intervention hospital, whereas the opposite was found post-test.ConclusionsOverall theoretical knowledge increased after systematic standardised training in CPR. The increase was more pronounced for those without previous training and for those staff categories with the least medical education.

Occupational affiliation does not influence practical skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for in-hospital healthcare professionals.

BackgroundD-CPR (Defibrillator Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) is a technique for optimal basic life support during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Guidelines recommend that healthcare professionals can perform CPR with competence. How CPR training and provision is organized varies between hospitals, and it is our impression that in Sweden this has generally improved during the last 15-20 years. However, some hospitals still do not have any AED (Automated External Defibrillators). The aim was to investigate potential differences in practical skills between different healthcare professions before and after training in D-CPR.MethodsSeventy-four healthcare professionals were video recorded and evaluated for adherence to a modified Cardiff Score. A Laerdal Resusci Anne manikin in connection to PC Skill reporting System was used to evaluate CPR quality. A simulated CPR situation was accomplished during a 5-10 min scenario of ventricular fibrillation. Paired and unpaired statistical methods were used to examine differences within and between occupations with respect to the intervention.ResultsThere were no differences in skills among the different healthcare professions, except for compressions per minute. In total, the number of compression per minute and depth improved for all groups (P < 0.001). In total, 41% of the participants used AED before and 96% of the participants used AED after the intervention (P < 0.001). Before intervention, it took a median time of 120 seconds until the AED was used; after the intervention, it took 82 seconds.ConclusionNearly all healthcare professionals learned to use the AED. There were no differences in CPR skill performances among the different healthcare professionals.

In-hospital cardiac arrest characteristics and outcome after defibrillator implementation and education: from 1 single hospital in Sweden

BACKGROUND Survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest (CA) has been reported to be surprisingly low without any major improvement during the last decade. AIMS The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical impact (delay to defibrillation and survival after CA) of an intervention within 1 single hospital (Västerås, Sweden), including (1) a systematic education of all health care professionals in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and (2) the implementation of 18 automated external defibrillators. METHODS Information was retrieved from the Swedish National Register of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. The differences between the 2 calendar periods were evaluated by χ(2) and Fisher exact tests. Logistic regression was used to control for potential confounders. RESULTS In total, there were 73 in-hospital CAs before (12 months) and 133 after (18 months) the intervention. The overall delay to defibrillation was not reduced after the intervention, and the proportion of survivors to hospital discharge was 26% before and 32% after the intervention (P =.51). Cerebral function, however, was improved after the intervention (as judged by the cerebral performance categories score; P < .001). Thus, the proportion of survivors among all CA patients discharged with a cerebral performance scale score of 1 or 2 (good or acceptable cerebral function) increased from 20% to 32%. CONCLUSION An intervention within 1 single hospital (systematic training of all health care professionals in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and implementation of automated external defibrillators) did not reduce treatment delay or increase overall survival. Our results, however, suggest indirect signs of an improved cerebral function among survivors.

Factors of importance to 30-day survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden – A population-based register study of more than 18,000 cases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) constitutes a major contributor to cardiovascular mortality. The aim of the present study was to investigate factors of importance to 30-day survival after IHCA in Sweden. METHODS A retrospective register study based on the Swedish Register of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCPR) 2006-2015. Sixty-six of 73 hospitals in Sweden participated. The inclusion criterion was a confirmed cardiac arrest in which resuscitation was attempted among patients aged >18years. RESULTS In all, 18,069 patients were included, 39% of whom were women. The median age was 75years. Thirty-day survival was 28.3%, 93% with a CPC score of 1-2. One-year survival was 25.0%. Overall IHCA incidence in Sweden was 1.7 per 1000 hospital admissions. Several factors were found to be associated with 30-day survival in a multivariable analysis. They included cardiac arrest (CA) at working days during the daytime (08-20) compared with weekends and night-time (20-08) (OR 1.51 95% CI 1.39-1.64), monitored CA (OR 2.18 95% CI 1.99-2.38), witnessed CA (OR 2.87 95% CI 2.48-3.32) and if the first recorded rhythm was ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia, especially in combination with myocardial ischemia/infarction as the assumed aetiology of the CA (OR for interaction 4.40 95% CI 3.54-5.46). CONCLUSION 30-day survival after IHCA is associated with the time of the event, the aetiology of the CA and the degree of monitoring and this should influence decisions regarding the appropriate level of monitoring and care.