Introduction:

Basic life support (BLS) are a group of maneuvers that constitute a fundamental tool to save lives. Therefore, knowledge of BLS has to be part of the curriculum in medical schools.

Objective:

Evaluate the knowledge level about BLS and evaluate its associated socio-educational factors, in medical students from nine Peruvian universities.

Material and methods:

A cross-sectional transversal multicenter study was conducted during 2013-2014, by surveying medical students from nine Peruvian universities in eight regions of Peru. An auto-applied validated questionnaire was used to measure the knowledge in BLS, based in 2010 in the American Heart Association (AHA) Guidelines; it was considered as adequate level by answering >50% questions correctly out of 20 possible. Adjusted prevalence rates (aPR) using generalized linear models were estimated.

Results:

Of all respondents (n = 1,564), 13% of the students had an adequate knowledge, the mean score was 6.3 ± 3.2 (range: 0-16). Obtaining a passing score was associated with attending semesters that belong to academic stage of clinical sciences (p = 0.02; aPR: 1.82; CI: 95%: 1.11-2.98) and having received a previous BLS course (p < 0.01; aPR: 2.96; CI: 95%: 2.18-4.01); adjusted by the age and sex of the respondent, as well as, having received a previous course of injection administration or first aids and to manifest the desire to be trained in practical BLS.

Conclusion:

A low proportion of students have an adequate knowledge level about BLS in the population studied. It is pertinent to evaluate the training in this subject and propose strategies for its improvement.

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