Posted on 11/14/2005 6:26:40 PM PST by neverdem
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS -- Too busy to take a four-hour CPR course? New research shows the lifesaving procedure can be effectively taught in a little more than 20 minutes.
The finding, presented Sunday at an American Heart Association meeting in Dallas, could broadly expand the number of Americans who can perform CPR.
"It's brilliant," said Dr. Lance Becker, director of the Emergency Resuscitation Center at the University of Chicago. "I think it's going to make our ability to train people much, much easier."
The study, led by Dr. Ahamed Idris, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, found that just five minutes of training on defibrillator use and 20 minutes of instruction in CPR was as effective as the standard four-hour course.
Idris said it makes sense that the shorter course was just as memorable: "The more you have to remember, the more likely you are to forget," he said.
The study used American Airlines employees and compared standard training to a short course taught by DVD. Participants were tested by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a computerized mannequin that took data on chest compression and ventilation. Their performance was also reviewed and graded by instructors.
The 150 people who took the short course did as well or better than the 118 who received standard training. More importantly, retention rates of knowledge remained similar six months later.
People suffering cardiac arrest can die in minutes unless they get effective CPR and sometimes a shock to the heart from a defibrillator, which restores a normal heart rhythm.
Defibrillators are becoming more common in schools, airports and other public places, but the key is having people nearby who are trained to use them.
Having a short course should help meet the heart association's goal to double in the next five years the number of Americans trained annually in cardiopulmonary resuscitation - currently about 8 million. The time commitment for a four-hour course seemed to be a stumbling block in getting people trained, officials said.
"It's very difficult for a company to release their employees for four hours to take a CPR course," Idris said.
The study was funded by Laerdal Medical, maker of the training DVD, the heart association, and device maker Philips Medical.
On the Net:
American Heart Association: http://www.americanheart.org
Laerdal Medical: http://www.laerdal.com
Actually, this doesn't seem surprising. The courses were so long and dull that my mind would wander.
A 2 hour class would be painful. Twenty minutes should be plenty for someone of normal cognitive capacity.
Hopefully, though nobody ever has to do CPR for 20 minutes. It's tough, but one of those things you just can't stop because you are tired.
So it is true: Less is more.
And it does make sense. I have sat through many training courses that were largely a waste of time. In most cases, one can learn in a few minutes of reading what an inarticulate instructor takes hours to teach. (Which reminds me: I have to sign up for a mandatory safety training and certification course.)
Anybody ever think about teaching this in schools instead of how to put a rubber on a cucumber?
I got a 20-30min CPR instruction in a Boy Scout troop about 30 years ago. The instruction worked well enough that I successfully employed it about ten years later.
These four hour courses and licensing and biannual "refreshers" have always been a joke to me. I'm glad someone else has finally caught on.
The key is to get oxygen into the lungs and get the heart muscle moving that oxygen thruout the bloodstream by means of CPR. The first few minutes are most important, as brain damage begins to occur somewhere around the 6 minute mark.
CPR works in this respect, and even if the success rate is only 10 to 15% effective, it is 10 to 15% better than NOT having CPR done at all.
Sorry to repeat what may be already known to most ppl, it simply can't be repeated enough times. CPR works, and can save a life.
As a former Girl Scout leader I had to take a standard class. The standard class is 8 freakin' hours! Refresher class is 4 hour. If you let your certificate expire you are required to take the 8 hour class all over again - you don't even have the opportunity to "test out" either.
LOL!
Digger -
They don't use cucumbers any longer. Each student gets a styrofoam penis to use instead!
I only need an 8-hour refresher to work hazmat sites. There's a heck of a lot more to go over regarding HAZMAT than CPR.
I learned CPR in 7th grade Health class. That was over 20 years ago and I still remember what I learned in that class.
And even in the 4-hour course, they don't teach about DNR orders unless reminded.
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