Modified paediatric resuscitation chart

Abstract

Objectives - To determine whether a modified paediatric resuscitation reference chart improves the speed and accuracy of calculation of doses of drugs in simulated paediatric cardiopulmonary arrests when compared with the chart devised by Oakley. Design - A prospective study in which a series of randomly assigned questions was used to compare the performance of doctors using the two charts. Setting - Accident and emergency departments in two hospitals. Subjects - 31 senior house officers. Main outcome measures - The speed and accuracy of calculation of volumes of drugs to be administered. Results - The modified chart significantly increased the accuracy of the calculations (62/62 v 43/62, p < 0.05), the speed of correct calculations (6.8 s v 36.0 s, p < 0.0001), and the number of calculations that were completed (62/62 v 50/62, p < 0.001). Conclusions - The modified paediatric resuscitation chart should supersede the existing chart.