Death Before Disco: The Effectiveness of a Musical Metronome in Layperson Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training

BackgroundA novel musical memory aid has been proposed for aiding laypersons in complying with the American Heart Association (AHA) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines of 100 compressions per minute (cpm).ObjectiveThis study tested usefulness of such a memory aid to improve layperson long-term compliance with CPR compression rate guidelines.MethodsA prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted using CPR-untrained laypersons. Subjects received either a standard CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class) or an experimental CPR educational experience (AHA Heartsaver® CPR class augmented with a musical metronome). Experimental group subjects were taught to perform compressions to the cadence of a pop music song (The Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”; Saturday Night Fever, The Original Movie Soundtrack; Polygram International Music, 1977) with a tempo of 100 beats/min. Compression rates, depth of compressions, and correct compressions were measured initially and upon retesting ≥6 weeks post-training.ResultsControl subjects had a higher mean compression rate both immediately (121 [standard deviation {SD} = 21] vs. 109 [SD = 15] cpm; 95% confidence interval [CI] of mean difference 4−19; p = 0.002) and at follow-up (120 [SD = 20] vs. 111 [SD = 13] cpm; 95% CI of mean difference 2−16; p = 0.014). Compression rates stratified to 100−120 cpm demonstrated no difference between groups initially (39% vs. 48%; p = 0.382), but more experimental subjects maintained these rates at follow-up (43% vs. 74%; p = 0.003).ConclusionsSubjects trained to use a musical metronome more often maintained a compression rate of 100−120 cpm at ≥6-week follow-up, suggesting the memory aid may improve long-term guideline adherence.