[Training and knowledge on basic life support by civil guards.]

Civil Guards are deployed throughout Spain and susceptible to being the first responders in out-of-hospital cardiorespiratory arrest. However, their level of training to perform Basic Life Support (BLS) is unknown. The aim of this work was to evaluate the level of knowledge on BLS of Civil Guards, and to explore the association between periodicity of training and knowledge.

Cross-sectional study of 839 Civil Guards in Asturias (Spain). A questionnaire with 14 multiple-choice questions assessed knowledge on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use of automatic defibrillator, which were transferred to 0-10 points scales (higher score indicted higher knowledge). Multiple linear regressions were used to estimate mean knowledge scores according to training on BLS (never, >2 years ago and ≤2 years ago), adjusted by sociodemographic and occupational variables.

Around 1 out of 10 Civil Guards performed some real CPR (11.2%). Regarding training, 42.5% had never participated in courses and 33.4% were trained >2 years ago. There was a discordance between willingness to perform BLS (65.6%) and self-perception of preparation (21.8%). A dose-response association was detected between training periodicity and knowledge: 4.26 points (95% CI: 4.07-4.45) of those never formed, 5.93 (95% CI: 5.71-6, 15) of those trained >2 years ago, 7.18 (95% CI: 6.92-7.44) of those trained ≤2 years ago (p-trend <0.001).

The level of training and knowledge on BLS of the Civil Guards is low. Receiving training every two years is significantly associated with greater knowledge.