Respiratory Arrest Flashcards

Unnoticed for a short amount of time, a 2-year-old boy fell into a swimming pool. When the youngster was discovered, his mother, who was terrified, quickly took him out of the water. As a BLS provider, you provide help. You start by making sure the area is secure. At this point in the scenario, what action will you take?

Answer: check for responsiveness

After ensuring scene safety, the very first action in any BLS scenario, including a drowning victim, is to check for responsiveness. This initial assessment determines if the child is conscious and requires further intervention. Only after confirming unresponsiveness do you proceed to call for help and assess for breathing and pulse.

What would you do after establishing that the child is unresponsive by tapping the child's shoulder and asking, "Are you OK?" now that the kid is not responding?

Answer: instruct an onlooker to call 911 and get an AED

After determining that the child is unresponsive, the next critical step is to activate the emergency response system and retrieve an AED. If bystanders are present, you should instruct one to call 911 (or the local emergency number) and another to find an AED. This ensures professional help is on the way and life-saving equipment is brought to the scene.

The bystander uses their cell phone to dial 911 and then goes in search of an AED. How will you intervene next?

Answer: look for breathing and check for a pulse simultaneously

While waiting for the bystander to call 911 and retrieve the AED, you should immediately assess the child's condition. This involves simultaneously looking for breathing and checking for a pulse for no more than 10 seconds. This assessment will guide whether to start CPR or provide rescue breaths.

The pulse check confirms that the infant DOES have a pulse and that the child IS NOT breathing. The heartbeat is roughly 90 per minute. (Is it correct?) As soon as the heart rate drops below 100 beats per minute, you should start chest compressions.

Answer: False

False. Chest compressions should be started if the infant's heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute AND there are signs of poor perfusion (e.g., pallor, mottling, cyanosis). A heart rate of 90 beats per minute, even without breathing, is not an indication to start chest compressions. In this scenario, rescue breaths would be the appropriate intervention.

An observer who had gone to get an AED returns. What will your following intervention be?

Answer: begin rescue breathing

When an observer returns with an AED, but the patient is still unresponsive and not breathing normally, the immediate priority is to provide ventilations. While the AED will be applied shortly, initiating rescue breathing is the critical next step to provide oxygen to the patient. This action addresses the immediate life threat of absent breathing.

How often should you provide one breath as you start your rescue breathing?

Answer: every 2-3 seconds

For children and infants requiring rescue breathing, the recommended frequency is one breath every 2-3 seconds, which translates to about 20-30 breaths per minute. This higher frequency compared to adults is crucial due to their faster metabolic rate and increased susceptibility to respiratory arrest. Ensuring adequate oxygenation is paramount in pediatric emergencies.

You are currently giving rescue breaths at a frequency of one every two to three seconds. With each ventilation, your chest is rising and falling properly. How frequently should the pulse be checked again to make sure cardiac arrest is not present?

Answer: every 2 minutes

When providing rescue breaths to a patient who has a pulse but is not breathing, it is crucial to recheck the pulse regularly to ensure that cardiac arrest has not occurred. The American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines recommend rechecking the pulse approximately every 2 minutes. This allows for timely detection of a deteriorating condition that would necessitate starting chest compressions.

When performing rescue breathing, you can use the head tilt-chin lift or the jaw push to open the airway. If a head or neck injury is suspected, which technique is used?

Answer: jaw thrust

The jaw thrust maneuver is the preferred method for opening the airway when a head or neck injury is suspected. Unlike the head tilt-chin lift, the jaw thrust minimizes movement of the cervical spine, thereby reducing the risk of further injury to the spinal cord. This technique is crucial in trauma situations to protect the patient's neurological integrity.

You see a teen kid lying on the ground in the hallway where you work at a high school. What is your initial course of action after establishing the safety of the situation?

Answer: check responsiveness by tapping the victim's shoulder and shouting "are you OK?"

After ensuring scene safety, the very first step in assessing an unresponsive person is to check for responsiveness. Tapping the victim's shoulder and shouting 'Are you OK?' helps determine if the person is conscious or unconscious. This initial assessment guides subsequent actions, such as calling for help or initiating CPR.

The victim doesn't say anything. Therefore, you tell an instructor to dial 911 and retrieve the AED. What will be your following intervention?

Answer: check for a pulse and breathing simultaneously

After determining unresponsiveness and calling for help/AED, the next critical step is to quickly assess for both breathing and a pulse. This simultaneous check should take no more than 5-10 seconds. This assessment determines whether the victim requires rescue breaths (pulse present, no breathing) or full CPR (no pulse, no breathing).

Although you can tell that the patient DOES have a pulse, you cannot observe any chest movement. The patient doesn't seem to be breathing, unfortunately. What should be the next course of action?

Answer: begin rescue breathing 1 breath every 6 seconds

If an adult patient has a pulse but is not breathing, the immediate intervention is to begin rescue breathing. The recommended frequency for rescue breaths in adults is one breath every 5-6 seconds, which equates to about 10-12 breaths per minute. This rate provides adequate oxygenation without causing hyperventilation, which can have negative effects.