At what age can children perform effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation? Effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills among primary school children

Introduction: In cardiac arrest life can be saved by bystanders. Aim: Our aim was to determine at what age can schoolchildren perform correct cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Method: 164 schoolchildren (age 7-14) were involved in the study. A basic life support training consisted of 45 minutes education in small groups (8-10 children). They were tested during a 2-minute-long continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation scenario using the "AMBU CPR Software". Results: Average depth of chest compression was 44.07 +/- 12.6 mm. 43.9% of participants were able to do effective chest compressions. Average ventilation volume was 0.17 +/- 0.31 liter. 12.8% of participants were able to ventilate effectively the patient. It was significant correlation between the chest compression depth (p< 0.001) and ventilation (p< 0.001) and the children's age, weight, height and BMI. Conclusions: Primary school children are able to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The ability to do effective chest compressions and ventilation depended on the children's physical capability.