• Anne Marie Roust Aaberg, Caroline Emilie Brenner Larsen, Bodil Steen Rasmussen, Carolina Malta Hansen, and Jacob Moesgaaard Larsen.
• Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Aalborg University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, Aalborg 9000, Denmark. amroust@dadlnet.dk.
• Scand J Trauma Resus. 2014 Apr 14; 22: 24.

BackgroundEarly recognition and immediate bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation are critical determinants of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Our aim was to evaluate current knowledge on basic life support (BLS) in Danish high school students and benefits of a single training session run by junior doctors.MethodsSix-hundred-fifty-one students were included. They underwent one 45-minute BLS training session including theoretical aspects and hands-on training with mannequins. The students completed a baseline questionnaire before the training session and a follow-up questionnaire one week later. The questionnaire consisted of an eight item multiple-choice test on BLS knowledge, a four-level evaluation of self-assessed BLS skills and evaluation of fear based on a qualitative description and visual analog scale from 0 to 10 for being first responder.ResultsSixty-three percent of the students (413/651) had participated in prior BLS training. Only 28% (179/651) knew how to correctly recognize normal breathing. The majority was afraid of exacerbating the condition or causing death by intervening as first responder. The response rate at follow-up was 61% (399/651). There was a significant improvement in correct answers on the multiple-choice test (p < .001). The proportion of students feeling well prepared to perform BLS increased from 30% to 90% (p < .001), and the level of fear of being first responder was decreased 6.8 ± 2.2 to 5.5 ± 2.4 (p < .001).ConclusionKnowledge of key areas of BLS is poor among high school students. One hands-on training session run by junior doctors seems to be efficient to empower the students to be first responders to OHCA.

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