Management of poisoning
Bev-Lorraine True, Robert H. Dreisbach in Dreisbach’s HANDBOOK of POISONING, 2001
Training in the use of cardiac resuscitation is mandatory. When a patient collapses and unresponsiveness is verified, the American Heart Association recommends to ‘Call First’, get AED (automatic external defibrillation) if available, start basic life support (BLS) – Airway, Breathing, Cardiac (ABCs) etc. However, if the collapse was obviously due to choking/airway obstruction, then the prudent intervention would be to start the airway and breathing interventions of basic first aid. If it was not obviously due to choking, then it most likely represents cardiac/ventricular fibrillation. The critical life-saving intervention is defibrillation. The ‘Call First’ recommendation reduces the amount of time it takes to get the defibrillator to the patient. If there is no readily available telephone or others to obtain help, then the rescuer must use common sense, give 1–2 precordial thumps, and start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The old recommendations of continuing CPR until help arrives or one is exhausted are too stringent, as CPR will not maintain adequate cerebral blood flow for hours. The recommendation is to continue for at least 10–15 minutes.
Perioperative and Critical Care
Kaji Sritharan, Samia Ijaz, Neil Russell, Tim Allen-Mersh in 300 Essentials SBAs in Surgery, 2017
Basic life support (BLS) requires the following, EXCEPT: Establishment of a definitive airway30 chest compressions to be given immediately, followed by two rescue breathsChest compressions and ventilation at a rate of 30:2Leaving the casualty to summon help if necessaryRescue breaths to be given over one second
Electrocardiography and arrhythmias
Neil Herring, David J. Paterson in Levick's Introduction to Cardiovascular Physiology, 2018
Without effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation the chance of successful electrical defibrillation falls by around 10% per minute of VF. Early defibrillation is therefore essential and the reason behind rapid response resuscitation teams in hospitals, placing automated external defibrillators in public places such as airports and shopping centres, and training the public in basic life support (especially effective chest compressions). Although clinical trials have identified patients at high risk of VT/VF and sudden cardiac death who may benefit from a primary prevention ICD, most patients who have a VT/VF arrest do not fall into these categories, and most people in whom ICDs are implanted never have a shock from their device.
Knowledge of basic life support among the students of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia: Is it adequate to save a life?
Published in Alexandria Journal of Medicine, 2018
Awais Ahmad, Naseem Akhter, Raju K. Mandal, Mohammed Y. Areeshi, Mohtashim Lohani, Mohammad Irshad, Mohsen Alwadaani, Shafiul Haque
Basic life support (BLS) is a set of emergency procedures applied to a patient, it comprises a number of techniques like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), shocking, and first aid treatments to sustain patient’s life until advance medical facility arrives or the person reaches hospital. BLS including CPR is the initial step of prompt recognition and to provide emergency support of ventilation and circulation in case of respiratory or cardiac arrest.1 It has a combination of skills including mouth-to-mouth breathing and chest compression to normalize blood circulation to the brain and vital organs. Earlier studies reported that immediate recognition of cardiac arrest, activation of the emergency medical services (EMS) system, early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation can make a difference between life and death.2
Exiting the Emergency Medical Services Profession and Characteristics Associated with Intent to Return to Practice
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2018
Rebecca E. Cash, Remle P. Crowe, Riddhima Agarwal, Severo A. Rodriguez, Ashish R. Panchal
Respondents were asked to answer items relating to prior employment characteristics including EMS certification level (None, Emergency Medical Responder [EMR], Emergency Medical Technician [EMT], EMT-Intermediate [EMT-I], Advanced EMT [AEMT], or paramedic), years of EMS experience (2 years or less, 3–10 years, 11–15 years, or 16 or more years), last EMS agency type worked for (hospital, fire department, tribal, military, government/non-fire department, private), primary service provided in last EMS job (9-1-1 response with transport capability, 9-1-1 response without transport capability, hazmat, medical transport, specialty care transport, rescue, paramedic intercept, air medical, or other) and months not working for EMS (0–2 months, 3–5 months, 6–12 months, or more than 12 months). Basic Life Support (BLS) was defined as EMR and EMT certification levels. Advanced Life Support (ALS) was defined as EMT-Intermediate, AEMT, and paramedic certification levels. Primary service provided was grouped into 9-1-1 response (9-1-1 response with transport capability and without transport capability), medical transport, air medical, and other (hazmat, specialty care transport, rescue, paramedic intercept, and other). Demographic variables of interest included sex and race/ethnicity, dichotomized to minority or non-minority (white, non-Hispanic).
Maximum Value of End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide Concentrations during Resuscitation as an Indicator of Return of Spontaneous Circulation in out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2020
François Javaudin, Stanislas Her, Quentin Le Bastard, Hugo De Carvalho, Philippe Le Conte, Valentine Baert, Hervé Hubert, Emmanuel Montassier, Jean-Baptiste Lascarrou, Brice Leclère
Basic life support (BLS) including external cardiac massage, defibrillation when necessary and oxygen mask ventilation was initiated on scene either by bystanders or by Fire Department Ambulance Personnel (FDAP). Some FDAP were accompanied by a nurse who could initiate epinephrine administration before the medical team arrived. Advanced Life Support (ALS) was performed by the medical team on arrival at the scene in accordance with the ERC guidelines. Ventilation was done by endotracheal intubation, when possible, at a rate of 10 per minute. The value of capnography was measured by the MICU when the equipment was available. The suspected etiology of the OHCA was determined on site by the MICU emergency physician. Capnography was measured continuously during resuscitation either on the bag-valve-mask or on the endotracheal intubation tube. The values were recorded by the MICU physician and only the maximum value has been kept in the RéAC database.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Advanced Airway Management
- Advanced Life Support
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