• Chika Nishiyama, Taku Iwami, Tetsuhisa Kitamura, Masahiko Ando, Tetsuya Sakamoto, Seishiro Marukawa, and Takashi Kawamura.
• Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto; Kyoto University Health Service, Kyoto.
• Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Jan 1; 21 (1): 47-54.

ObjectivesIt is unclear how much the length of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training program can be reduced without ruining its effectiveness. The authors aimed to compare CPR skills 6 months and 1 year after training between shortened chest compression-only CPR training and conventional CPR training.MethodsParticipants were randomly assigned to either the compression-only CPR group, which underwent a 45-minute training program consisting of chest compressions and automated external defibrillator (AED) use with personal training manikins, or the conventional CPR group, which underwent a 180-minute training program with chest compressions, rescue breathing, and AED use. Participants' resuscitation skills were evaluated 6 months and 1 year after the training. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of appropriate chest compressions 1 year after the training.ResultsA total of 146 persons were enrolled, and 63 (87.5%) in the compression-only CPR group and 56 (75.7%) in the conventional CPR group completed the 1-year evaluation. The compression-only CPR group was superior to the conventional CPR group regarding the proportion of appropriate chest compression (mean ± SD = 59.8% ± 40.0% vs. 46.3% ± 28.6%; p = 0.036) and the number of appropriate chest compressions (mean ± SD = 119.5 ± 80.0 vs. 77.2 ± 47.8; p = 0.001). Time without chest compression in the compression-only CPR group was significantly shorter than that in the conventional CPR group (mean ± SD = 11.8 ± 21.1 seconds vs. 52.9 ± 14.9 seconds; p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe shortened compression-only CPR training program appears to help the general public retain CPR skills better than the conventional CPR training program.Clinical Trial RegistrationUMIN-CTR UMIN000001675.© 2013 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

15 keywords...

hide…