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

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Civil Guards are Spain's first responders for out-of-hospital cardiorespiratory arrest.
• Their baseline Basic Life Support (BLS) knowledge is currently unknown.
• This study assesses BLS knowledge among Civil Guards and its correlation with training frequency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Basic Life Support (BLS) knowledge level of Civil Guards in Spain.
• To determine the association between the periodicity of BLS training and the acquired knowledge.
• To identify potential gaps in BLS preparedness within this first responder group.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 839 Civil Guards in Asturias, Spain.
• Knowledge assessed via a 14-question multiple-choice questionnaire on CPR and AED use, scored 0-10.
• Multiple linear regression analyzed knowledge scores based on training intervals (never, >2 years, ≤2 years), adjusted for covariates.

Main Results:

• Only 11.2% of Civil Guards had performed actual CPR.
• A significant portion lacked recent training: 42.5% never trained, 33.4% trained over 2 years ago.
• Knowledge scores showed a dose-response relationship with training: never trained (4.26), trained >2 years ago (5.93), trained ≤2 years ago (7.18).

Conclusions:

• The overall level of Basic Life Support (BLS) knowledge among Civil Guards is low.
• Regular training, specifically every two years, is significantly associated with higher BLS knowledge.
• Periodic retraining is crucial to enhance the preparedness of Civil Guards as first responders.