The efficacy of an ACLS training program for resuscitation from cardiac arrest in a rural community

Study objective: To determine whether an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) course in a rural hospital will improve resuscitation success from cardiac arrest. Design: A retrospective case review of all patients in cardiac arrest during a 13-month period before and after the institution of an ACLS training program. Setting: Emergency department of a 42-bed rural, community hospital in a community with no prehospital advanced life support or early defibrillation. Participants: All patients in cardiac arrest were entered into the data base. Twenty-nine patients were included in the pre-ACLS period and 35 in the post-ACLS period. There were no significant differences in age, gender, initial rhythm, comorbid diseases, witnessed versus unwitnessed arrest, or total arrest time in the patients in the pre-ACLS period compared with those in the post-ACLS period. Intervention: ACLS provider training. Main results: Patients in cardiac arrest who had ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia as their initial rhythm had significant improvement in resuscitation success compared with patients in ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia in the pre-ACLS period (six of 15 versus none of nine, P