Adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillation European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2005

Research in adult basic life support continues to advance and guidelines must be updated regularly. The European Resuscitation (ERC) Guidelines 2000 had to be updated, so on December 2005 were published the ERC Guidelines 2005. Aim of this article is to present the changes in the algorithm of adult Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillation (AED). The main changes in CPR and AED are: (1) The decision to start CPR is made if the victim do not respond and is not breathing normally. (2) Rescuers should be taught to place their hands on the center of the chest, rather than to use the “rib margin” method. (3) Each rescue breath should be given in 1 sec. (4) The ratio of compressions/ventilations that should be use is 30:2 rather than 15:2. (5) The 2 initial rescue breaths are omitted, with 30 compressions being given immediately after cardiac arrest is established. (6) A single defibrillation shock is delivered, immediately followed by 2 min of uninterrupted CPR, without a check of pulse, signs of life or termination of ventricular fibrillation. (7) Public access defibrillation programs are recommended for locations where the expected use of an AED for witnessed cardiac arrest exceeds 1 to 2 years. The new guidelines do not define the only way that resuscitation should be achieved; they represent a widely accepted and effective way of performing resuscitation safe for both victim and rescuer. Also is very important all health care providers to be taught the new guidelines and public access programs to be established for a faster reaction to cardiac arrests.

Category: Volume 46, N 1
Hits: 749 Hits
Created Date: 15-03-2007
Authors: Georgios I. Pavlidis , Dimitrios-Ergest Bombaj , Renato Trifoni