The level of knowledge of pediatricians on defibrillation

Year 2020, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 80 - 84, 27.01.2020

Halise Akça , Nilden Tuygun , Can Demir Karacan

https://doi.org/10.12956/tchd.642297

Abstract

Objective: Defibrillation is part of the life-saving
chain. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge of
pediatricians on defibrillation procedures.

Material and Methods: The questionnaire was administered to 308
pediatricians. The specialists were grouped according to their experience as
under 5 years, 5-10 years and over 10 years while the research assistants were
classified as 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year and 4th year. Subjects with 0-2
correct answers were classified as less knowledgeable, 3-5 as moderately
knowledgeable and 6-8 as knowledgeable.

Results: A small percentage of the physicians had received
training on the defibrillation procedure. The self-sufficiency rate for the use
of the defibrillator device was around 50% in those who received training and
around 20% among all physicians. The mean number of correct answers given to
the 8 questions used to evaluate the level of knowledge was 4.36±1.77.
Approximately half of the subjects (51%) had a moderate level of knowledge. The
level of knowledge of the pediatricians who examined patients, had been trained
on defibrillator use and used one themselves was significantly higher. The
number of correct answers increased as the subject's self-assessment of his/her
adequacy increased. There was a significant difference between the level of
knowledge of specialists with less than and over 10 years of experience.

Conclusion: We found that pediatricians participating
in our study did not have adequate defibrillation knowledge. We believe that
updating defibrillator device training and increasing the relevant
self-confidence before the level of knowledge decreases is very important.

Keywords

cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation, level of knowledge, pediatrician

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