Understanding Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Knowledge in Physiotherapy Undergraduates - A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: CPR is a lifesaving technique. It aims to keep blood and oxygen flowing through the body when a person’s heart and breathing have stopped. When the heart stops breathing, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is used to save the patient’s life. After a cardiac arrest, immediate CPR can double or triple the possibilities of survival. C-A-B [ chest compression, airway and breathing], should be commenced when a victim/patient is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Early compressions can improve outcomes by keeping the brain and heart perfused with the oxygenated blood in the circulatory system prior to collapse. When patients receive timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation from qualified medical personnel, cardiac arrests and the deaths that accompany them are decreased. When using exercise as a therapeutic approach, physiotherapists must be proficient in CPR not only to handle potential adverse cardiac events during exercise, but also because early defibrillation and widespread application of CPR can drastically lower the death rate from a heart attack. In this study, we evaluated physiotherapy students' understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Surat. Aims: The study aimed to assess the knowledge regarding the Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Physiotherapy undergraduates in Surat, Gujarat. Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess knowledge of CPR by using online google form questionnaire. Method: A cross-sectional study of physiotherapy students in Surat was conducted. An online survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire. The data was collected from 103 physiotherapy students in Surat aged 18-27 years. A CPR knowledge questionnaire was completed by the students and the result was analyzed with Microsoft Excel 2019. Result: Results suggest that the students were a good understanding of the importance of CPR in clinical practice and stand average in knowing its indications and effectiveness. Whereas, 62% of them were completely aware of the universal compression ventilation ratio, and 45% were aware of the current order of CPR being compression, airway, and breathing. Conclusion: In this study, it concludes that awareness of CPR is good among physiotherapy students in Surat. Keywords: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation knowledge, Physiotherapy students, Awareness of CPR.