Residual Psychomotor Skills of Orderlies After a Novel Chest Compression Training Intervention

Background: High-quality chest compressions are essential to favorable patient outcomes after in-hospital cardiac arrest. Without frequent training, however, skill in performing compressions declines considerably. The Timely Chest Compression Training (T-CCT) intervention was introduced in 2019 as a quality improvement initiative to address this problem. The long-term impact of the T-CCT is unknown.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted at a university-affiliated hospital in Quebec, Canada. Chest compression performance among orderlies was measured by using a subtractive scoring model and mannequins. The association of exposure to the T-CCT 10 months earlier with having an excellent chest compression performance (score ≥90 out of 100), after adjusting for potential confounders, was examined.

Results: A total of 412 orderlies participated in the study. More than half (n = 232, 56%) had been exposed to the T-CCT, and the rest (n = 180, 44%) had not. Nearly half (n = 106, 46%) of orderlies exposed to the T-CCT had an excellent performance, compared with less than one-third (n = 53, 30%) of nonexposed orderlies. In univariable analysis, previous exposure to the T-CCT was associated with 1.53 times greater risk of having an excellent performance (risk ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.17-1.99). This effect remained after adjustment for potential confounders (risk ratio, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.19-2.07).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the T-CCT has a lasting effect on the psychomotor skills of orderlies 10 months after initial exposure. Further research should investigate the impact of the intervention on patient outcomes after in-hospital cardiac arrest.