CPR and Agonal Breathing Recognition Training for Police Officers

NCT07695766 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 115159-W
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 3,439
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will evaluate an educational training program for police officers in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Police officers may arrive at out-of-hospital cardiac arrest events before emergency medical services and may be able to provide early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator support. However, abnormal gasping or agonal breathing can be mistaken for normal breathing and may delay recognition of cardiac arrest. Participants will receive a single training session consisting of an adult CPR refresher course and agonal breathing recognition training. Anonymous online questionnaires will be completed before and immediately after the training. The study will compare pre-training and post-training questionnaire results to assess changes in agonal breathing recognition accuracy, CPR-related knowledge, and course satisfaction.

Conditions

Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA); Agonal Breathing; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training

Keywords

Police officers; Law enforcement; First responders; Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; CPR training; Agonal breathing; Agonal breathing recognition; Automated external defibrillator; AED

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Agonal Breathing Recognition Accuracy

  Difference between pre-training and post-training accuracy in recognizing agonal breathing, measured using a study-specific anonymous online questionnaire.

  Immediately before and immediately after the training session

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in CPR-Related Knowledge Score

  Immediately before and immediately after the training session

• Change in Total Learning Outcome Score

  Immediately before and immediately after the training session

• Course Satisfaction Score

  Immediately after the training session

Study Arms (1)

CPR Refresher and Agonal Breathing Recognition Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a single-session educational intervention consisting of adult CPR refresher training and agonal breathing recognition training. Anonymous online questionnaires are completed immediately before and immediately after the training session.

Behavioral: CPR Refresher and Agonal Breathing Recognition Training

Interventions

CPR Refresher and Agonal Breathing Recognition Training BEHAVIORAL

A single-session educational training program consisting of a 20-minute adult CPR refresher course and a 40-minute agonal breathing recognition training session. The CPR refresher covers the emergency response sequence, chest compression quality, compression depth and rate, and complications of chest compression. The agonal breathing recognition session covers pathophysiology, clinical presentation, real-case video-based recognition practice, and analysis of common recognition errors.

CPR Refresher and Agonal Breathing Recognition Training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Active police officers serving in New Taipei City, Taiwan
• Officers attending routine annual first aid or CPR training
• Officers who voluntarily complete the anonymous online pre-training and/or post-training questionnaire

You may not qualify if:

• \- None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Far Eastern Memorial Hospital: lead
• New Taipei City Police Department: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Far Eastern Memorinal Hospital

New Taipei City, 220, Taiwan

Location

Related Publications (11)

• Hasselqvist-Ax I, Nordberg P, Svensson L, Hollenberg J, Joelsson-Alm E. Experiences among firefighters and police officers of responding to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a dual dispatch programme in Sweden: an interview study. BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 21;9(11):e030895. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030895.

  PMID: 31753873 BACKGROUND

• Lupton JR, Johnson E, Prigmore B, Daya MR, Jui J, Thompson K, Nuttall J, Neth MR, Sahni R, Newgard CD. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes when law enforcement arrives before emergency medical services. Resuscitation. 2024 Jan;194:110044. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2023.110044. Epub 2023 Nov 11.

  PMID: 37952574 BACKGROUND

• Stein P, Spahn GH, Muller S, Zollinger A, Baulig W, Bruesch M, Seifert B, Spahn DR. Impact of city police layperson education and equipment with automatic external defibrillators on patient outcome after out of hospital cardiac arrest. Resuscitation. 2017 Sep;118:27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2017.06.017. Epub 2017 Jun 24.

  PMID: 28655625 BACKGROUND

• Missel AL, Dowker SR, Chiola M, Platt J, Tsutsui J, Kasten K, Swor R, Neumar RW, Hunt N, Herbert L, Sams W, Nallamothu BK, Shields T, Coulter-Thompson EI, Friedman CP. Barriers to the Initiation of Telecommunicator-CPR during 9-1-1 Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Calls: A Qualitative Study. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2024;28(1):118-125. doi: 10.1080/10903127.2023.2183533. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

  PMID: 36857489 BACKGROUND

• Juul Grabmayr A, Dicker B, Dassanayake V, Bray J, Vaillancourt C, Dainty KN, Olasveengen T, Malta Hansen C; International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Basic Life Support Task Force. Optimising telecommunicator recognition of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A scoping review. Resusc Plus. 2024 Aug 30;20:100754. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2024.100754. eCollection 2024 Dec.

  PMID: 39282502 BACKGROUND

• Brinkrolf P, Metelmann B, Scharte C, Zarbock A, Hahnenkamp K, Bohn A. Bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest is associated with reported agonal breathing and leads to less frequent bystander CPR. Resuscitation. 2018 Jun;127:114-118. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2018.04.017. Epub 2018 Apr 18.

  PMID: 29679693 BACKGROUND

• Perera N, Riou M, Birnie T, Finn J, Whiteside A, Majewski D, Ball S. How likely is the patient to be in cardiac arrest? Caller breathing descriptors in ambulance calls that were dispatched as cardiac arrest. Resusc Plus. 2025 May 23;24:100990. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2025.100990. eCollection 2025 Jul.

  PMID: 40535613 BACKGROUND

• Kirby K, Voss S, Bird E, Benger J. Features of Emergency Medical System calls that facilitate or inhibit Emergency Medical Dispatcher recognition that a patient is in, or at imminent risk of, cardiac arrest: A systematic mixed studies review. Resusc Plus. 2021 Nov 18;8:100173. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2021.100173. eCollection 2021 Dec.

  PMID: 34841368 BACKGROUND

• Kitano S, Suzuki K, Tanaka C, Kuno M, Kitamura N, Yasunaga H, Aso S, Tagami T. Agonal breathing upon hospital arrival as a prognostic factor in patients experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Resusc Plus. 2024 May 13;18:100660. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2024.100660. eCollection 2024 Jun.

  PMID: 38778802 BACKGROUND

• Lin HY, Chien YC, Lee BC, Wu YL, Liu YP, Wang TL, Ko PC, Chong KM, Wang HC, Huang EP, Sun JT, Hsieh MJ, Hou SW, Yang WS, Wang YC, Huang CH, Chiang WC, Ma MH; Taipei City Fire Department Quality Assurance Team. Outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests after a decade of system-wide initiatives optimising community chain of survival in Taipei city. Resuscitation. 2022 Mar;172:149-158. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2021.12.027. Epub 2021 Dec 28.

  PMID: 34971722 BACKGROUND

• Chen HA, Hsu ST, Hsieh MJ, Sim SS, Chu SE, Yang WS, Chien YC, Wang YC, Lee BC, Huang EP, Lin HY, Ma MH, Chiang WC, Sun JT. Influence of advanced life support response time on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient outcomes in Taipei. PLoS One. 2022 Apr 14;17(4):e0266969. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266969. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 35421162 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Heart Arrest; Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: physician

Model Details: This is a single-arm, before-and-after educational intervention study. All participants receive the same CPR refresher and agonal breathing recognition training. Outcomes are assessed using anonymous online questionnaires completed immediately before and immediately after the training session.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 6, 2026
• First Posted: July 10, 2026
• Study Start: June 12, 2026
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2026
• Study Completion: June 30, 2026
• Last Updated: July 10, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TW (1)