This month CanadiEM features an article recently published in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine (CJEM) that focuses on the assessment of CPR quality by instructors.1 Since instructors teaching CPR do not have access to objective measures of CPR quality (rate, depth, fraction), they must rely on subjective assessments.2
As outlined in this CanadiEM infographic, this study by Brennan et al. set out to determine whether experienced instructors (emergency department staff and senior residents) could accurately assess chest compression quality during a simulated resuscitation scenario. The methodology involved the use of simulation manikins to obtain objective measures of chest compression quality, which were compared to evaluator feedback. The results demonstrated that instructors were very poor at assessing CPR quality, as they incorrectly thought CPR was performed adequately in most sessions.
This study suggests a general trend of false positives, as participants are being certified for CPR despite not meeting skill requirements. Furthermore, it suggests that the use of objective real-time chest compression quality data is useful feedback for CPR training sessions.
Note: Thanks to Calvin Yeh, Alvin Chin, Heather Murray, Will Sanderson, Rohit Mohindra, and Lynsey Martin for assisting in the development of this infographic. This article was uploaded and copy-edited by Brent Thoma.
References
Simon Huang
Latest posts by Simon Huang (see all)
- Self-reported Anosmia and Dysgeusia as Key Symptoms of COVID-19 - November 24, 2020
- Regional Anesthesia in Canadian Emergency Departments - August 18, 2020
- Introducing the 2020 CanadiEM Infographic Team - May 6, 2020