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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation prescription program: a pilot randomized comparator trial
Marna Rayl Greenberg1, Gavin C Barr, Valerie A Rupp
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.
Insights
Prescribing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) kits motivated patients to purchase them, unlike CPR classes. This study explored the effectiveness of CPR prescriptions for heart patients and their families.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Background:
- The American Heart Association aims to increase public CPR proficiency.
- The efficacy of prescribing CPR training to patients is not well-established.
- This study investigated patient adherence to CPR learning recommendations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if patients with or at risk for heart disease and their families are more likely to follow advice to purchase a CPR Anytime™ kit or enroll in a CPR class.
- To compare the effectiveness of two CPR training prescription methods.
Main Methods:
- A prospective randomized pilot study involved 162 CPR-naïve participants aged over 44.
- Participants were recruited from emergency, primary care, and cardiology settings.
- One group received a prescription for a CPR Anytime™ kit; the other was prescribed a CPR class.
Main Results:
- Approximately 15% of participants purchased the CPR kit, while 0% took a CPR class.
- Patients were significantly more likely to purchase a CPR kit than to attend a class (p=0.0004).
- Adherence varied by recruitment site, with higher purchase rates in primary care settings.
Conclusions:
- Prescriptive advice can motivate patients to purchase CPR Anytime™ kits.
- Patients are unlikely to adhere to prescribed advice for attending CPR classes.
- CPR kits represent a viable option for increasing CPR training adherence in cardiac patients.
Background:
The American Heart Association wants to increase the number of citizens who know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It is unknown whether giving patients a prescription (Rx) to learn CPR is effective. We sought to determine if patients with, or at risk for, heart disease and their families were more likely to follow prescriptive advice to buy a CPR Anytime™ kit (American Heart Association, Dallas, TX) or to take a CPR class.
Methods:
This was a prospective randomized pilot study of a convenience sample of 162 patients who presented to one of three recruiting sites: a suburban community emergency department (ED), an office-based primary care (IM), or cardiology (CD) setting. After consent was obtained, CPR-naïve participants aged>44 years were randomized to one of two study arms. One group received a Rx for a CPR Anytime™ self-learning kit, consisting of a CPR mannequin and a 22-minute DVD. The comparator group was prescribed a CPR class.
Results:
At the IM office, 7/29 (24%), at the CD office 3/25 (12%), and at the ED 2/23 (9%) patients purchased the CPR kit. Across both investigational arms, 4 were lost to follow-up, yielding approximately 15% (12/77) who followed Rx advice to purchase the CPR kit and 0% (0/79) who took a CPR class. Cumulatively, a participant was significantly more likely to purchase a kit than to take a class (p=0.0004).
Conclusion:
Patients can be motivated to purchase CPR Anytime™ kits but not to take a CPR class from prescribed advice.
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