• Veerle Van Raemdonck, Koenraad G Monsieurs, Dirk Aerenhouts, and Kristine De Martelaer.
• aDepartment of Education, Erasmus University College Brussels Departments of bMovement and Sports Training cBiomechanics and Human Biometry, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels dDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem eDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk fDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
• Eur J Emerg Med. 2014 Aug 1;21(4):284-90.

BackgroundCardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training at school is recommended. Limited school resources prevent implementation. The learning efficacy of low-cost training strategies is unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of different CPR learning strategies using low-cost didactic tools.MethodsChildren (n=593, 15-16 years) were randomized to four training conditions: (1) manikin+teacher instruction (control group), (2) manikin+video instruction, (3) foam dice+plastic bag+peer training+teacher instruction, and (4) foam dice+plastic bag+peer training+video instruction. After a 50 min training, a 3 min CPR test on a manikin was performed using SkillReporting Software (Laerdal, Norway), and repeated after 6 months. The data of children without previous CPR training were analysed. Analysis of variance and the χ-test assessed differences between groups.ResultsComplete data sets were available for 165 pupils. Initially, group 3 scored lower on the mean ventilation volume (P<0.05). The control group scored better than the alternative groups (P<0.05) on the mean compression rate. After 6 months, the differences disappeared. All groups scored equally on ventilation volume (P=0.12), compression depth (P=0.11), compression rate (P=0.10), correct hand position (P=0.46) and number of correct compressions (P=0.76). Ventilation volume was sufficient in 32% of the pupils, 18% had a correct compression depth and 59% had a correct compression rate.ConclusionTraining efficacy with low-cost equipment was not different from training with a manikin. The outcome for all training strategies was suboptimal. The basics of CPR can be taught with alternative equipment if manikins are not available.

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