Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest accounts for 5% to 10% of deaths among children. Survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest depends on quick recognition, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. In Lebanon, the survival rate of children following such arrests is low (16.7%). Consequently, this study assesses availability of automated external defibrillators (AED) and CPR/AED training in Lebanese schools.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional phone-based survey study conducted using a randomized sample of 175 private, private-free and public schools - representative of all of the country regions.

Results: Among surveyed schools, 99 responded with a complete participation (56.6% response rate). Most surveyed schools were public. 28% had at least one individual who underwent CPR or/and AED training, and only 2 schools had an AED. 4 schools reported a history of SCA, 3 of them were confirmed dead, and those 4 schools did not have an AED. The main perceived barriers for not having an AED included lack of recommendations and regulations implementing such programs at schools (24.7%), no previous cardiac arrest cases at the school (22.7%) and absence of support from authorities (21.6%). Moreover, 86.9% of participant schools were interested in CPR/AED training and 89% found it essential.

Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that Lebanese schools are affected by the lack of sufficient legislations and requirements for SCA. This calls for promotion of basic life support training, as well as large-scale evaluation for emergency preparedness.