Neonatal Resuscitation Courses for Pediatric Residents: Comparison Between Khartoum (Sudan) and Padova (Italy)

Background: The efficacy of a Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) has been previously evaluated in developed countries, but there is a lack of information regarding the impact of this teaching program in developing countries. Our aim was to compare the knowledge gained by University of Khartoum (Sudan) and University of Padova (Italy) pediatric residents following participation in the NRP course.

Methods: An 80-item questionnaire derived from the standard test contained in the American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal Resuscitation Manual was given to participants before and after the course.

Results: Twenty-five Sudanese and 26 Italian pediatric residents answered the pre- and postcourse questionnaire. The percentages of correct answers significantly improved from before to immediately after the course for both Sudanese (51.9 +/- 10.5% vs 84.9 +/- 5.8%; P < 0.01) and Italian (64.3 +/- 8.1% vs 94.0 +/- 3.9%; P < 0.01) pediatric residents. During the entire study, the scores obtained by Italian pediatric residents were higher than those reached by their Sudanese colleagues (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: The trend of the knowledge attainment of both Sudanese and Italian pediatric residents was similar after NRP course participation. An NRP is effective in teaching neonatal resuscitation in developing countries.