Perception of Knowledge and Level of Preparedness towards Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Among Physicians in a Tertiary Care Centre of Eastern India

Abstract

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the main stay of treatment to revive patient who are in cardiac arrest and traditionally it was conducted under the supervision of emergency, critical care and anesthesia department. Knowledge of CPR and preparedness towards CPR among other specialty remains questionable. It has been observed through there are ample of data from developed countries but there is a paucity of work in developing countries regarding the same. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and level of preparedness and to assess the perception towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation among physicians and to determine factors influencing the same and the recommendation for further improvement. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted using a sample of 41 physicians employed in different specialties of Medica super specialty hospital using a pre validated questionnaire for a period of 12 months. Fischer exact test or Chi Kolmogorove -Smirnov analysis has been used to check if data is following the normal distribution. Pearson’s correlation analysis or Spearman’s rank correlation analysis has been used to assess correlation between two variables. RESULT : 41 physicians responded among 80 contacted (n=41,response rate= 51.25%).In our study The mean age of the participants was 39.46 (±9.01) years with a median of 38 years. The age ranged from 2564 years. 75.6% of the respondents were males. Major group of participants are belonged to emergency medicine (29.3% ) followed by non-interventional cardiology.43.9% of study populations are holding doctor level medical degree.39% of study population is holding ACLS /BLS certification. 100% of physician of study population are being aware of importance of CPR and 73.2% are keen to take part in CPR awareness programme. Most of the physicians (75.6%) believe teaching and mastering CPR intervention should be made mandatory to all medical undergraduates. There was no significant association of specialty, highest qualification, years of experience or presence of ATLS certification with score on question regarding main purpose of CPR. There was a significant association of score on this question with presence of ACLS/BLS Certification, with all respondents who possessed ACLS/BLS certification answering all options correctly. CONCLUSION :The study showed variable level of perception of knowledge and level of preparedness towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation among physicians and there are no single variable or determined factor for above. Though the study indicates there is correlation between the ACLS/BLS/ALS certification and knowledge of CPR further study and evaluation is needed in context of developing countries. It is also recommended a refresher course intending towards last years of medical school would be beneficial regarding knowledge of CPR