FAQ about current CPR for lay persons and health care providers

medic417

medic417

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Seems we get a lot of questions about CPR guidelines. Here is a link that comes from AHA. It explains when you do hands only, when you should do breaths, if the compression only is for health care professionals, and much more.

Perhaps we can have a sticky made as this comes up so much.

http://handsonlycpr.org/faqs.html

A couple of quotes from it.

"Who should receive Hands-OnlyTM CPR?
Hands-OnlyTM CPR is recommended for use on teens or adults (anyone over the age of 8) whom you witness suddenly collapse."

"How and when to provide Hands-OnlyTM CPR
Has the American Heart Association changed its recommendation for healthcare providers?
No, the current AHA recommendation for healthcare providers has not changed. More research is needed to determine if the existing sequence for professional rescuers can be made more effective."

There is much more info there so please know the whats, whens and hows.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAn...Community-Training_UCM_001123_SubHomePage.jsp

The FAQ were found by clicking on the science of simplicity on the above link. Then on the page it takes you to is a link the the above FAQ page that I provided the link to.

Hope this helps.
 
* Another note.... as dispatchers we are only walking people through hands-only CPR. Not sure if this is every center, but I believe it's becoming pretty standard.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/07/28/chest.compressions/index.html

"While the two trials described in NEJM involve rescue attempts by lay people, the same techniques also are being investigated for professional EMTs. This fall, a randomized trial will get under way in several cities, including Seattle, where some cardiac arrest victims will receive CCR while others get traditional resuscitation. After the first six minutes, when existing oxygen in the bloodstream would most likely be used up, all victims will receive additional ventilation."
 
Pulse check?

http://firstaid.about.com/b/2009/05/10/hands-only-cpr-no-pulse-check-needed.htm

http://jacksonville.com/news/health...advice-experts-when-hands-only-cpr-acceptable

"If you see an adult suddenly collapse who is not breathing normally, shake the person and ask loudly if he or she is OK. If you don't get a response, call 911 or, better yet, have another bystander call. Then start rapid, firm compressions in the middle of the chest.

Don't take the time to check for a pulse. Even doctors and nurses have a difficult time finding a pulse under stressful conditions. If an unresponsive adult suddenly collapses and is not breathing normally, start hands-only CPR. In fact, many cardiac arrest victims are still gasping but need CPR. The best immediate care is to keep the heart pumping without delay."
 
medic417 said:
"If you see an adult suddenly collapse who is not breathing normally, shake the person and ask loudly if he or she is OK. If you don't get a response, call 911 or, better yet, have another bystander call. Then start rapid, firm compressions in the middle of the chest.
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Hmmm... while I agree that a pulse check for bystanders is unnecessary.... I don't like how they phrased this. Someone could easily interpret this as a reason to give chest compressions to someone in seizure, for example.
 
LucidResq said:
Hmmm... while I agree that a pulse check for bystanders is unnecessary.... I don't like how they phrased this. Someone could easily interpret this as a reason to give chest compressions to someone in seizure, for example.
Click to expand...

Haha, that reminds me of a scene from House MD where some girl has a seizure and some guy runs over and starts chest compressions. House goes "You trying to cop a feel"?

If I'm off-duty and don't have a mouth mask then they are getting hands only. Plus I'm always down for breaking ribs.
 
LucidResq said:
Hmmm... while I agree that a pulse check for bystanders is unnecessary.... I don't like how they phrased this. Someone could easily interpret this as a reason to give chest compressions to someone in seizure, for example.
Click to expand...

The AHA is putting real emphasis on compressions and minimizing interruptions between them, another reason is because so many bystanders are not performing CPR because in today's health-conscious (lol) society, many are choosing not to help just to avoid mouth to mouth. Chest compressions with no breaths is better than nothing, and some of the latest research is really beginning to show us that chest compressions should be our main focus in CPR.

I recently recertified my AHA BLS instructorship a few weeks ago and was told that we will find out the new standards in November.
 
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Funny you should mention this...

LucidResq said:
Hmmm... while I agree that a pulse check for bystanders is unnecessary.... I don't like how they phrased this. Someone could easily interpret this as a reason to give chest compressions to someone in seizure, for example.
Click to expand...

This exact scenario played out 3 nights ago in our area. 23 year old male pt was seizing. Dispatch walked them through the Hands only CPR. They also informed us that it was a code and mother was doing chest compressions. A very short time later dispatch says pt is not breathing. He was a bit sore when we got there:wacko:
 
medicRob said:
The AHA is putting real emphasis on compressions and minimizing interruptions between them, another reason is because so many bystanders are not performing CPR because in today's health-conscious (lol) society, many are choosing not to help just to avoid mouth to mouth. Chest compressions with no breaths is better than nothing, and some of the latest research is really beginning to show us that chest compressions should be our main focus in CPR.
Click to expand...

I understand all of that and I agree with the compression-only model for bystanders... believe me... I'm taking 911 calls and part of my job is to walk bystanders, even those with no CPR training, through chest compressions. A few coworkers have had people call in for someone not breathing, refuse to be talked through CPR, but then change their mind once they are told that there's no mouth-to-mouth involved.

I just didn't like that the above article was essentially telling people to start chest compressions in adults who collapse and are breathing abnormally. I think it should have been adults who collapse and are not breathing. Granted, some people are still going to think someone is breathing when they are not or vice versa, but at least it's less open to incorrect interpretation. Breathing abnormally insinuates they ARE breathing.
 
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LucidResq said:
I just didn't like that the above article was essentially telling people to start chest compressions in adults who collapse and are breathing abnormally. I think it should have been adults who collapse and are not breathing. Granted, some people are still going to think someone is breathing when they are not or vice versa, but at least it's less open to incorrect interpretation. Breathing abnormally insinuates they ARE breathing.
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Oh yeah, I can definitely see where this can be a problem. This kind of language could possibly lbe confusing to a healthcare provider let alone the average lay person. They should be a bit more clear about what constitutes, "Abnormal breathing" to a lay person, as I am quite sure they will look at you with the deer in the head lights stare if you even mention the word, "Sternocleidomastoid"

OMG They are wheezing!! That is abnormal, quick perform compressions! 100 per Minute, 5 cycles!
 
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ProQA/MPDS still have "regular" CPR but I believe its being changed to hands only if the person does not want to do breaths.
 
EMT-IT753 said:
This exact scenario played out 3 nights ago in our area. 23 year old male pt was seizing. Dispatch walked them through the Hands only CPR. They also informed us that it was a code and mother was doing chest compressions. A very short time later dispatch says pt is not breathing. He was a bit sore when we got there:wacko:
Click to expand...

I sincerely hope dispatch did not know that the person was seizing, since I can't imagine the dispatchers flipcharts have CPR anywhere on the seizures page.
 
jjesusfreak01 said:
I sincerely hope dispatch did not know that the person was seizing, since I can't imagine the dispatchers flipcharts have CPR anywhere on the seizures page.
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I'm sure they didn't realize he was just seizing. It is a very common call, as I'm sure you can imagine, and every dispatcher I've met is extremely familiar with them. Sometimes people call and say "my soandso is having a seizure" but often they have no idea what is going on and will just scream they're not breathing and they're not responding... Although we do confirm they're not breathing and talk them through a head-tilt chin-lift to see if that gets em going, you obviously have only their word to rely on for everything...

The flipcards you are referring to are like mini-assessments. There are different cards for all kinds of chief complaints... if you go to the seizure card it will prompt you to ask if the person is conscious and then if they are breathing or not before anything else (actually this is the case with every single complaint/card). You are then directed to a CPR card if the patient is not breathing.
 
Maybe thinking it is a seizure is a mental coping mechanism for people, since it gives them some sort of answer to what's actually happening, as opposed to DFO.
 
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