Training practices in neonatal and paediatric life support

Simulation-based training (SBT) is often employed to ensure adequate acquisition and retention of resuscitative skills. Guidelines for neonatal life support (NLS), paediatric basic life support (PBLS), and paediatric advanced life support (PALS) are issued by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). However, neonatal and paediatric life support training varies among hopsitals, institutions and countries.

Binkhorst et al conducted a survey among paediatric residents, general paediatricians and subspecialists working in hospitals in 14 different European countries with the objective to provide an overview of neonatal and paediatric resuscitation training practices. The large majority of results came from the Netherlands and Belgium, which is why analysis was based on those responses only.

Most paediatric professionals in the Netherlands and Belgium receive regular resuscitation training. Reading guidelines and resuscitation preparedness appear to be suboptimal, especially among the youngest and most senior professionals. PBLS was more frequently offered than PALS and NLS, though not to all professionals caring for children. Official recertification varied between 35-75%.

Advanced technologies, e.g. high-fidelity manikins, video-based debriefing and e-learnings, are not yet widely applied in paediatric resuscitation training.

Retraining and recertification should be done at set intervals. Barriers to course participation were high cost, lack of time, the non-compulsory status, remote location and unavailability of courses.

Conclusion

The authors conclude that…’Although most paediatric professionals receive life support training, guideline reading, recertification, training utilisation, and resuscitation preparedness require improvement.