European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Healthcare professionals must be proficient in Basic Life Support (BLS) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge and skills. Interns and residents are usually the first point of contact in emergency care.The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding BLS CPR among interns and residents.  Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional observational study was conducted for 2 weeks duration involving 165 participants.The survey comprised of Adult Basic Life Support Knowledge Questionnaire and Student Information Sheet pertaining to socio-demographic information, history of previous training in BLS and history of participation in CPR or BLS practices. Results: Out of 165 participants, majority of participants were females and interns. The mean age of the participants was 23.94 ± 1.505 years in the range of 22 – 27 years.Previous experience in teamwork for CPR was confirmed by 56.97%, though only 49.09% had received formal training for CPR.  Majority gave correct responses for abbreviation of BLS, location of pulse check, clinical characteristics of high-quality CPR, abbreviation of EMS. Lesser accurate responses were obtained in context to symptoms of choking, 2-rescuer CPR, signs of airway obstruction, CPR in neonates and children. The mean score of the participants in knowledge and practice domain were 7.3187 ± 2.2272 and 5.4545 ± 1.8527 respectively. Residents and participants with previous training had significantly higher mean scores in both knowledge and practice domains. Majority gave affirmative responses to the questions pertaining to attitude domain. Conclusions:  The present study highlighted suboptimal knowledge about BLS CPR in among interns and residents. 2-rescuer CPR and CPR in neonates and children were the domains which needed definite attention.  Previous training and experience had positive impact on scores in knowledge and practice domains. There is a need fortargeted educational interventions to indoctrinate healthcare professionals for delivering high-quality BLS services.