Objective: The people who aid patients in cardiac arrest in daily life are those who witness the event in the immediate environment. In cases of cardiac arrest, which anyone can encounter at any time and place, the application of correct and efficient basic life support by bystanders contributes significantly to the patient's survival. In this study, our aim was to compare the efficiency of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by untrained lay rescuers assisted by a dispatcher with CPR by the same persons without assistance from a dispatcher after they are provided with CPR training. Material and Methods: We planned the study prospectively on 5th year students of the Baskent University Faculty of Dentistry. We placed each study participant one by one in a room where there was a model of basic life support (BLS) and a CPR feedback device. We provided participants with a scenario of BLS taking place in a public space. At that time, we contacted a dispatcher who was standing in another room. We asked participants to apply one 2-min cycle of CPR consisting only of chest compression with the dispatcher's assistance. After we recorded data on all participants, we provided them BLS training. We re-evaluated all participants' CPR abilities immediately after this. Results: Thirty-seven 5th year Faculty of Dentistry students participated in our study. The median age of participants was 23.22±1.31. The gender distribution was 16.2% male and 83.7% female. There was a statistically significant difference between the number of chest compressions applied before (89.27±24.53) and after training (110.59±21.92) (p <0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the measurements of compression times, the ratio of proper compressions to all compressions, and the compression percentages before and after training (p <0.005; <0.005 and <0.001 respectively). Conclusion: The results of our study clearly reveal that the CPR applied by trained laypersons is distinctly superior to CPR with the assistance of a dispatcher.
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