Assessment of clinical awareness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation among dental undergraduate students in the vidarbha region

Abstract

Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an important link in the chain of survival during the early minutes of cardiac arrest. Prompt identification and immediate help increase the chances of survival for victims. As dental students start working on patients from their 3rd year of professional life, important life-threatening situations and lifesaving skills should be known to them. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the awareness of CPR among dental students from 3rd and final year. Materials and Methods: In this study, students of 3rd year and final year of dental colleges of the Vidarbha region were included to access the basic knowledge regarding basic life science skills while performing CPR through a questionnaire that consisted of 20 questions. The questionnaire was circulated among students in Google forms and responses were noted. After excluding the incomplete response, the results were then analyzed. Results: The results were expressed in appropriate graphs and tables. It was observed that the participants included were lacking about complete knowledge of CPR. Among 206 students who responded, a large number of them (around 94%) had not heard of basic life support (BLS)/CPR. Rescue breathing in infants was not known to around 85% of students, chest compression and ventilation ratio in a child was known by only about 11% of students, and the first response in suspected foreign body obstruction was not known to about 90% of the students. The overall result was not favorable and the students had low confidence in performing BLS/CPR. Conclusion: The result of the current study indicates a strong need for emphasis on both theoretical and practical training in CPR for undergraduate dental students. This might prove beneficial to save more lives while avoiding medicolegal complications which may occur in the dental clinic also, thus benefiting both the patient and the dental practitioners as well.