Early or late booster for basic life support skill for laypeople: a simulation-based randomized controlled trial

Purpose Retention of skills and knowledge has been shown to be poor after resuscitation training. The effect of a “booster” is controversial and may depend on its timing. We compared the effectiveness of an early versus late booster session after Basic Life Support (BLS) training for skill retention...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of emergency medicine 2022-06, Vol.24 (4), p.408-418
Main Authors: Boet, Sylvain, Waldolf, Richard, Bould, Chilombo, Lam, Sandy, Burns, Joseph K., Moffett, Stéphane, McBride, Graeme, Ramsay, Tim, Bould, M. Dylan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation - education
Clinical trials
CPR
Defibrillators
Educational Measurement
Emergency Medicine
Humans
Lifesaving
Medical education
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Research
Public Health
Single-Blind Method
Skills
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Summary:Purpose Retention of skills and knowledge has been shown to be poor after resuscitation training. The effect of a “booster” is controversial and may depend on its timing. We compared the effectiveness of an early versus late booster session after Basic Life Support (BLS) training for skill retention at 4 months. Methods We performed a single-blind randomized controlled trial in a simulation environment. Eligible participants were adult laypeople with no BLS training or practice in the 6 months prior to the study. We provided participants with formal BLS training followed by an immediate BLS skills post-test. We then randomized participants to one of three groups: control, early booster, or late booster. Based on their group allocation, participants attended a brief BLS refresher at either 3 weeks after training (early booster), at 2 months after training (late booster), or not at all (control). All participants underwent a BLS skills retention test at 4 months. We measured BLS skill performance according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s skills testing checklist for adult CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator. Results A total of 80 laypeople were included in the analysis (control group, n  = 28; early booster group, n  = 23; late booster group, n  = 29). The late booster group achieved better skill retention (mean difference in checklist score at retention compared to the immediate post-test = – 0.8 points out of 15, [95% CI – 1.7, 0.2], P  = 0.10) compared to the early booster (– 1.3, [– 2.6, 0.0], P  = 0.046) and control group (– 3.2, [– 4.7, – 1.8], P  
ISSN:1481-8035
1481-8043
DOI:10.1007/s43678-022-00291-3