CPR Coach Training Boosts Coach Presence on Code Teams in Pediatric ICU

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Coach presence on code teams is significantly increased following a quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) coach training intervention within a pediatric intensive care unit, according to a study published online Jan. 1 in American Journal of Critical Care.

Katie L. McDermott, Ph.D., R.N., from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and colleagues evaluated the impact of a quality CPR coach training intervention on resuscitation teams, including the presence of coaches on teams and physiologic metrics of quality CPR delivery in real compression events. The CPR coach role, developed for hospital-based resuscitation teams, provides real-time, verbal feedback on chest compression quality to compressors during a cardiac arrest. The analysis included 79 cardiopulmonary arrests (40 before and 39 after the intervention) that occurred in a pediatric intensive care unit.

The researchers found that the presence of a quality CPR coach on resuscitation teams was more frequent after training (35 percent before and 72 percent after). There were no significant differences seen in the frequency of application of Zoll defibrillator pads. Following the intervention, metrics of quality CPR delivery and adherence with American Heart Association recommendations were either unchanged or improved.

“This educational intervention and evaluation study can function as a blueprint for other centers to pragmatically actualize evidence-based educational strategies, study the real-life effects, and ultimately affect patients’ resuscitation outcomes,” the authors write.

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