Laerdal MiniAnne with a counting device: does it improve performance?

Introduction

The Laerdal MiniAnne personal resuscitation manikin with a self-instruction video can effectively teach lay persons basic life support (BLS) in less than 30 minutes [1]. The aim of this study was to assess if the quality of BLS could be improved by adding a counting device to the manikin. The aim of the counting device, which counts the number of correct chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth (MTM) ventilations during two minutes, is to give feedback and thereby improve performance.

Methods

59 random employees at Stavanger University Hospital were asked to learn or refresh their BLS skills using a MiniAnne manikin with a self-instruction video. Half of these manikins were equipped with a specially designed counting device. These manikins were equipped with a slightly modified video explaining the use of this counting device. Otherwise np BLS instructions were given. The performance of BLS was measured for the two groups after six months. The two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results

There was no significant difference in the number of correct chest compressions or MTM ventilations for the employees who received a manikin with a counting device compared to those who received one without (Table 1).

Table 1

Conclusion

The addition of a counting device does not improve performance of BLS six months after training with a MiniAnne manikin with self-instruction video.