Introduction:
Bystander response to a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) should ideally be the same for all victims, however studies have shown disparities in response exist based on the gender of the victim. Current virtual reality (VR) wearable technology allows for the creation of high realism scenarios permitting manipulation of the victim’s gender in order to observe bystander response.
Objectives:
We sought to compare lay bystander response to an unannounced simulated VR SCA event based on the victim’s gender.
Methods:
Using our VR SCA system integrated with a CPR recording manikin, we randomized the avatar victim’s gender to either female or male (Figure 1). Subjects were able to interact with simulated bystanders, give vocal commands such as “call 911” or “get an AED”, and perform CPR on the simulated victim in the virtual environment while simultaneously performing CPR on the manikin. Subjects were unaware of the nature of the event but were told to respond however they would in real-life to an emergency situation. Subject’s ability to proceed through the Chain of Survival (Call 911, Perform CPR, Ask for and Use an AED) and CPR quality were recorded.
Results:
Between 9/2017 and 12/2017, 75 subjects were enrolled; mean age was 31±11 yrs, 35% were female, 49% were White, and 66% had never been trained in CPR or were trained >2 yrs prior. In total, 59% of subjects performed CPR, and 11% used an AED. CPR was performed on male victims 65% of the time vs 54% on female victims (p=NS, Figure 2a); An AED was used 21% of the time for male victims vs 15% for female victims (p=NS, Figure 2b). If the subject was male, CPR was performed on a female victim 56% of the time vs 71% for a male victim; female subjects performed CPR on a female victim 50% vs 58% on a male victim (p=NS).
Conclusion:
In our unannounced, immersive VR SCA study, there was a trend toward less CPR and AED use on female avatar victims. Future work will need to be powered to evaluate disparities in CPR and AED use based on gender.
Exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest in London: incidence, survival and bystander response
