title: Push hard, push fast: quasi-experimental study on the capacity of elementary schoolchildren to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The optimal age to begin CPR training is a matter of debate. This study aims to determine if elementary schoolchildren have the capacity to administer CPR efficiently.
  
  
  METHODS
  This quasi-experimental study took place in a Quebec City school. Eighty-two children 10 to 12 years old received a 6-hour CPR course based on the American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines. A comparison group of 20 adults who had taken the same CPR course was recruited. After training, participants' performance was evaluated using a Skillreporter manikin. The primary outcome was depth of compressions. The secondary outcomes were compression rate, insufflation volume and adherence to the CPR sequence. Children's performance was primarily evaluated based on the 2005 AHA standards and secondarily compared to the adults' performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Schoolchildren did not reach the lower thresholds for depth (28.1 +/- 5.9 vs 38 mm; one-sided p = 1.0). The volume of the recorded insufflations was sufficient (558.6 +/222.8 vs 500 ml; one-sided p = 0.02), but there were a significant number of unsuccessful insufflation attempts not captured by the Skillreporter. The children reached the minimal threshold for rate (113.9 +/-18.3 vs 90/min; one-sided p < 0.001). They did not perform as well as the adults regarding compression depth (p < 0.001), but were comparable for insufflation volume (p = 0.83) and CPR sequence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, schoolchildren aged 10-12 years old did not achieve the standards for compression depth, but achieved adequate compression rate and CPR sequence. When attempts were successful at generating airflow in the Skillreporter, insufflation volume was also adequate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, CHU de Québec - CHUL, 2705 Boul, Laurier, Québec, Qc G1V 4G2, Canada. siberth@me.com
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berthelot
authors.forename: Miville
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plourde
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Amélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bourassa
authors.forename: Marie-Maud
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.forename: Élyse
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Berger-Pelletier
authors.forename: Maude
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: St-Onge
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Le Sage
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Camden
mesh_terms: D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D002648:Child; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002365:Manihot; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis