The skills of defibrillation practice and certified life‐support training in the healthcare providers in Turkey

Abstract

Aim of the study Successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation are critical in survival after in‐ or out‐of‐hospital cardiopulmonary arrest. The scope of this multi‐centre study is to (a) assess skills of paediatric healthcare providers (HCPs) concerning two domains: (1) recognising rhythm abnormalities and (2) the use of defibrillator devices, and (b) to evaluate the impact of certified basic‐life‐support (BLS) and advanced‐life‐support (ALS) training to offer solutions for quality of improvement in several paediatric emergency cares and intensive care settings of Turkey. Methods This cross‐sectional and multi‐centre survey study included several paediatric emergency care and intensive care settings from different regions of Turkey. Results A total of 716 HCPs participated in the study (physicians: 69.4%, healthcare staff: 30.6%). The median age was 29 (27‐33) years. Certified BLS‐ALS training was received in 61% (n = 303/497) of the physicians and 45.2% (n = 99/219) of the non‐physician healthcare staff (P < .001). The length of professional experience had favourable outcome towards an increased self‐confidence in the physicians (P < .01, P < .001). Both physicians and non‐physician healthcare staff improved their theoretical knowledge in the practice of synchronised cardioversion defibrillation (P < .001, P < .001). Non‐certified healthcare providers were less likely to manage the initial doses of synchronised cardioversion and defibrillation: the correct responses remained at 32.5% and 9.2% for synchronised cardioversion and 44.8% and 16.7% for defibrillation in the physicians and healthcare staff, respectively. The indications for defibrillation were correctly answered in the physicians who had acquired a certificate of BLS‐ALS training (P = .047, P = .003). Conclusions The professional experience is significant in the correct use of a defibrillator and related procedures. Given the importance of early defibrillation in survival, the importance and proper use of defibrillators should be emphasised in Certified BLS‐ALS programmes. Certified BLS‐ALS programmes increase the level of knowledge and self‐confidence towards synchronised cardioversion‐defibrillation procedures.

Knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers toward advanced cardiac life support in Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, 2022

“…Empowering healthcare workers with advanced cardiac life support knowledge could potentially improve patient survival after cardiac arrest. In this study, the knowledge level of healthcare workers was contradicted with the studies conducted in New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey; the knowledge level of healthcare workers in each country was 65%, 76%, 87%, and 86%, respectively, 1 , 9 , 21 which is higher than the knowledge level of healthcare workers in this study. The difference could be attributed to differences in educational curriculum, study setting, study period, and accessibility of technology and machines like an AED.…”

“…In this study, 225 (56.25%) healthcare workers were recorded as positive or having a good attitude regarding advanced cardiac life support, while 175 (43.75%) of them were negative or had a poor attitude toward performing advanced cardiac life support. This is different from the studies which were conducted in Saudi, Canada, Turkey, and Brazil which showed that 97%, 84%, 86%, and 79% had positive attitudes regarding performing advanced cardiac life support, respectively 9 , 21 , 23 , 24 This implies a more positive approach than the approach taken by healthcare workers in this study to perform advanced cardiac life support. This contradiction might be due to the knowledge difference, the overcrowding of emergencies in this study setting, and the unavailability of medication and equipment to provide advanced cardiac life support.…”

“…This finding was supported by studies conducted in the United States, Nigeria, and Turkey. 19 , 21 , 25 …”