At what age can schoolchildren provide effective chest compressions? An observational study from the Heartstart UK schools training programme

Abstract

Objective To determine at what age children can perform effective chest compressions for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Design Observational study. Setting Four schools in Cardiff. Participants 157 children aged 9-14 years in three school year groups (ages 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14). Interventions Participants were taught basic life support skills in one lesson lasting 20 minutes. Main outcome measure Effectiveness of chest compression during three minutes' continuous chest compression on a manikin. Results No year 5 pupil (age 9-10) was able to compress the manikin's chest to the depth recommended in guidelines (38-51 mm). 19% of pupils in year 7 (age 11-12) and 45% in year 9 (age 13-14) achieved adequate compression depth. Only the 13-14 year olds performed chest compression as well as adults in other reported studies. Compression depth showed a significant relation with children's age, weight, and height (P<0.001). Multivariate analyses showed that, if the age and weight of the children were both known, the height (which is closely related to both) was no longer significant (P=0.95). No association was found between pupils' age, sex, weight, or height and the average rate of chest compressions over the three minute period. Similarly, no relation was found between year group and ability to place the hands in the correct position. During the three minutes' compression, compression rate increased and depth decreased. Conclusions The children's ability to achieve an adequate depth of chest compression depended on their age and weight. The ability to provide the correct rate and to employ the correct hand position was similar across all the age ranges tested. Young children who are not yet physically able to compress the chest can learn the principles of chest compression as well as older children.

CPR knowledge and attitude to performing bystander CPR among secondary school students in Norway

“…29,30 At the age of 6-7 they are competent to perform basic first aid to an unconscious patient, 31 and may provide effective chest compressions when 13-14 years old. 32 All Norwegian children should go through one BLS course during middle school, but in the present study only 73 % of the respondents could recall that they had received BLS training at school. This implies that the full potential of training during school has not been fulfilled.…”

Attuning a mobile simulation game for school children using a design-based research approach

“…School children are willing and prepared to provide CPR if they are trained, and they are capable of learning CPR (Lester, Donnelly, Weston & Morgan, 1996). This is supported by studies which indicate that children aged 13--14 perform compressions on an unconscious patient as well as adults do (Jones et al 2007). Organizations such as the American Heart Association expect that in the long run, mandatory training of schoolchildren at regular intervals will increase the number of trained adults (Cave, Aufderheide & Beeson, 2011) and will raise awareness, interest and sense of importance of taking action in out--of--hospital cardiac arrest.…”

Hány éves kortól képesek a gyermekek újraéleszteni? – A hatékonyság felmérése általános iskolás gyermekek körében

“…Egy korábbi kutatásban -amelyben 9-13 éves iskolásokat mértek fel -hasonló eredmények születtek [18], és ugyancsak hasonló eredményként jelent meg, hogy az idő előrehaladtával a mellkaskompressziók mélysége folyamatosan csökkent, a frekvencia viszont növekedett. Egy pakisztáni kutatásban, amelyben középiskolásokat mértek fel, azt kapták eredményül, hogy a résztvevők 5 percen keresztül tudták folyamatosan végezni az újraélesztést a fáradás jelei nélkül [19].…”