Disco lives

J Emerg Med. 2014 Oct 1. pii: S0736-4679(14)00811-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2014.07.048. [Epub ahead of print]

Death Before Disco: The Effectiveness of a Musical Metronome in Layperson Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training.

Hafner JW1, Jou AC2, Wang H3, Bleess BB1, Tham SK4.

Author information

• 1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
• 2Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
• 3Department of Internal Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, Illinois; Department of Internal Medicine, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois.
• 4Illini Emergency Medical Services, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

A novel musical memory aid has been proposed for aiding laypersons in complying with the American Heart Association (AHA) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines of 100 compressions per minute (cpm).

OBJECTIVE:

This study tested usefulness of such a memory aid to improve layperson long-term compliance with CPR compression rate guidelines.

METHODS:

A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted using CPR-untrained laypersons. Subjects received either a standard CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class) or an experimental CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class augmented with a musical metronome). Experimental group subjects were taught to perform compressions to the cadence of a pop music song (The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive"; Saturday Night Fever, The Original Movie Soundtrack; Polygram International Music, 1977) with a tempo of 100 beats/min. Compression rates, depth of compressions, and correct compressions were measured initially and upon retesting ≥6 weeks post-training.

RESULTS:

Control subjects had a higher mean compression rate both immediately (121 [standard deviation {SD} = 21] vs. 109 [SD = 15] cpm; 95% confidence interval [CI] of mean difference 4-19; p = 0.002) and at follow-up (120 [SD = 20] vs. 111 [SD = 13] cpm; 95% CI of mean difference 2-16; p = 0.014). Compression rates stratified to 100-120 cpm demonstrated no difference between groups initially (39% vs. 48%; p = 0.382), but more experimental subjects maintained these rates at follow-up (43% vs. 74%; p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS:

Subjects trained to use a musical metronome more often maintained a compression rate of 100-120 cpm at ≥6-week follow-up, suggesting the memory aid may improve long-term guideline adherence.