Impact and effectiveness assessment of children training in basic life support

a systematic review

Abstract

Early and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by spectators is an important predictor of survival in victims of cardiac arrest outside hospitals. In this sense, WHO has recommended CPR training in schools since 12 years. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of training of children in basic life support. For this, a systematic literature review was performed in the MedLine indexing base, with a search phrase constructed with the words “Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation”, “Education” and “Child” and their variations obtained from MeSH. Inclusion criteria were studies published for up to five years with CPR training approach for children in school environment. Review studies with no description of training methods and incomplete results were excluded. 13 suitable for the methods of this study were selected. In all there was a theoretical and practical training followed by the application of an evaluative questionnaire. The results demonstrate the ineffectiveness of compressions of younger children attributed to low weight, height and BMI, and a greater interest of younger children in relation to older children and adults. CPR training for children before the age of 12 is effective. Despite ineffective CPR, the knowledge gained promotes the solidification of techniques in the future.