title: Death before disco: the effectiveness of a musical metronome in layperson cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A novel musical memory aid has been proposed for aiding laypersons in complying with the American Heart Association (AHA) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines of 100 compressions per minute (cpm).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study tested usefulness of such a memory aid to improve layperson long-term compliance with CPR compression rate guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted using CPR-untrained laypersons. Subjects received either a standard CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class) or an experimental CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class augmented with a musical metronome). Experimental group subjects were taught to perform compressions to the cadence of a pop music song (The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive"; Saturday Night Fever, The Original Movie Soundtrack; Polygram International Music, 1977) with a tempo of 100 beats/min. Compression rates, depth of compressions, and correct compressions were measured initially and upon retesting ≥6 weeks post-training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Control subjects had a higher mean compression rate both immediately (121 [standard deviation {SD} = 21] vs. 109 [SD = 15] cpm; 95% confidence interval [CI] of mean difference 4-19; p = 0.002) and at follow-up (120 [SD = 20] vs. 111 [SD = 13] cpm; 95% CI of mean difference 2-16; p = 0.014). Compression rates stratified to 100-120 cpm demonstrated no difference between groups initially (39% vs. 48%; p = 0.382), but more experimental subjects maintained these rates at follow-up (43% vs. 74%; p = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subjects trained to use a musical metronome more often maintained a compression rate of 100-120 cpm at ≥6-week follow-up, suggesting the memory aid may improve long-term guideline adherence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hafner
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Jou
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Department of Internal Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
authors.forename: Huaping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
authors.forename: Brandon B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Bleess
authors.affiliation: Illini Emergency Medical Services, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
authors.forename: Stephanie K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Tham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006336:Heart Massage / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CPR; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; chest compressions; education; feedback; metronome; music; training