["Kids Save Lives"-resuscitation training for schoolchildren : Systematic review]

Even in western developed countries, the probability of survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is only 6-10%. In order to improve survival after OHCA, early initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by laypersons is essential. Introduction of CPR training in schoolchildren seems to be effective to increase lay-CPR rates.

The objective of the present investigation was to elucidate educational aspects of teaching schoolchildren in CPR and to summarize campaigns related to a comprehensive establishment of lay-CPR worldwide.

A literature research in PubMed was performed, the cutoff date was 27 February 2017. Overall, 192 abstracts were analyzed; 51 articles were considered relevant and included in the manuscript. An additional keyword research in Google revealed >230,000 entries, and 20 of those were included in the present manuscript.

A minimum age of 12-13 years is required to achieve a comparable quality of CPR to adult basic life support (BLS). Key issues are (i) the correct detection of a cardiac arrest, (ii) a correctly performed call for help, (iii) thoracic compressions and (iv) if applicable, the initiation of adequate mouth-to-mouth ventilation. Practical training showed a significantly higher CPR quality compared to theoretical training only or to the use of instruction or online videos only. Worldwide implementation of a 2-h BLS training per year in children from the age of 12 or younger is recommended by the "Kids Save Lives"- statement since 2015. In Germany, implementation at the level of the federal states has progressed to different degrees.