Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland)
Objective While emergency care for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is strictly regulated in professional football, the situation in amateur football is unclear. This study investigated the emergency readiness for SCA in German amateur football clubs.Methods A cross-sectional survey of 253 German amateur...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/1/e002274.full |
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| author | Tim Meyer Florian Egger Ana Ukaj |
| author_facet | Tim Meyer Florian Egger Ana Ukaj |
| author_sort | Tim Meyer |
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| description | Objective While emergency care for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is strictly regulated in professional football, the situation in amateur football is unclear. This study investigated the emergency readiness for SCA in German amateur football clubs.Methods A cross-sectional survey of 253 German amateur football clubs (fifth division and lower) was conducted between January and August 2023. Club representatives participated in a 30-point questionnaire on automated external defibrillator (AED) availability, visibility, purchase, usage, frequency of staff trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED usage, regular CPR and AED training, and the existence of an emergency action plan (EAP).Results 161 of 253 eligible clubs (64% response rate) participated. An AED was available in 48/161 (30%) clubs. 46 of 161 clubs (29%) had no CPR-trained staff. A high availability of CPR- and AED-trained staff (>75% likelihood of being present at the pitch) was more likely during a match (61% and 84%) than training (40% and 51%), respectively. Retrospectively, over 7 years, five clubs reported that CPR-trained staff used an AED, resulting in a survival rate of 80%. 16 clubs (10%) had an EAP in the event of an SCA.Conclusion German amateur football clubs show low emergency readiness for SCA despite a promising survival rate when an AED is used by CPR-trained staff on-site. Regular CPR and AED training for club members, increased availability of AEDs, and the development of EAPs might be beneficial in responding adequately to an SCA during football training and matches. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c28858ee47384a1fb347fa83c0af3956 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2055-7647 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| series | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-c28858ee47384a1fb347fa83c0af39562025-01-07T02:05:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine2055-76472025-01-0111110.1136/bmjsem-2024-002274Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland)Tim Meyer0Florian Egger1Ana Ukaj2Department of Oncology, University College, London, UK1 Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, GermanyInstitute of Sports and Preventive Medicine Campus B8 2, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, GermanyObjective While emergency care for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is strictly regulated in professional football, the situation in amateur football is unclear. This study investigated the emergency readiness for SCA in German amateur football clubs.Methods A cross-sectional survey of 253 German amateur football clubs (fifth division and lower) was conducted between January and August 2023. Club representatives participated in a 30-point questionnaire on automated external defibrillator (AED) availability, visibility, purchase, usage, frequency of staff trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED usage, regular CPR and AED training, and the existence of an emergency action plan (EAP).Results 161 of 253 eligible clubs (64% response rate) participated. An AED was available in 48/161 (30%) clubs. 46 of 161 clubs (29%) had no CPR-trained staff. A high availability of CPR- and AED-trained staff (>75% likelihood of being present at the pitch) was more likely during a match (61% and 84%) than training (40% and 51%), respectively. Retrospectively, over 7 years, five clubs reported that CPR-trained staff used an AED, resulting in a survival rate of 80%. 16 clubs (10%) had an EAP in the event of an SCA.Conclusion German amateur football clubs show low emergency readiness for SCA despite a promising survival rate when an AED is used by CPR-trained staff on-site. Regular CPR and AED training for club members, increased availability of AEDs, and the development of EAPs might be beneficial in responding adequately to an SCA during football training and matches.https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/1/e002274.full |
| spellingShingle | Tim Meyer Florian Egger Ana Ukaj Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine |
| title | Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) |
| title_full | Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) |
| title_fullStr | Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) |
| title_short | Emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in Germany (federal state Saarland) |
| title_sort | emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in amateur football clubs in germany federal state saarland |
| url | https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/11/1/e002274.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT timmeyer emergencyresponseplanningforsuddencardiacarrestinamateurfootballclubsingermanyfederalstatesaarland AT florianegger emergencyresponseplanningforsuddencardiacarrestinamateurfootballclubsingermanyfederalstatesaarland AT anaukaj emergencyresponseplanningforsuddencardiacarrestinamateurfootballclubsingermanyfederalstatesaarland |