Tag Archives: cpr

child drowning

CPR Makes Big Difference in Child Drownings

Dougherty County emergency responders see near and accidental drownings involving children quite often this time of year. Sometimes three in one day. They say knowing how and when to give them CPR can shave precious minutes, and save lives.

“The quicker you can get blood circulation through an external compression, the better chance they have of survival,” said Dickie Livingston, who is the training and compliance Supervisor with Dougherty County EMS.

Just with any other procedure, there is a specific approach to address a child in distress. Learn child and infant CPR online.

“You come up on a child, say you pull them out of a swimming pool, you get them out, tap them, make sure they’re unresponsive, and you holler for help. You tell somebody to go call 911 bring an AED.”

Livingston says it’s okay to hold off on CPR until help arrives if the child starts coughing. But if he or she doesn’t, that’s when you start the chest compressions.

“You put your single hand in the middle of their chest. Upper third of the chest. Press down about two inches,” Livingston added.

You will need to compress hard and fast…at least one hundred times per minute.

“For every thirty compressions that you do, you stand and open their mouth, tilt their head back a little bit. So they don’t have any trauma, blow two breaths in their lungs,” explained Livingston. “Just enough to make the chest rise and immediately go back to chest compressions until help arrives, or until the patient becomes responsive.”

It can take between two and seven minutes for the CPR to be effective, until paramedics arrive on scene.

“And at that point, they’ll come in, they’ll start taking over, and start doing CPR, and we’ll get there, and we’ll start giving drugs and put them on the monitor and see what exactly’s going on with the heart and fix it from there,” added Livingston.

The CPR method should be the same for every child, regardless of their size and weight. It’s acceptable to use two hands, but larger adults may only have to use one.

“The biggest thing is you have to press down hard enough to mash the heart between the sternum and the spine. If it takes two hands, if you’re small, then you have to use two hands.”

Article Source: https://fox28media.com/news/local/proper-cpr-makes-life-and-death-difference-in-accidental-child-drownings

covid cpr

New CPR Guidelines When COVID-19 Is Known or Suspected

Special precautions should be taken when resuscitating people in cardiac arrest with known or suspected COVID-19 coronavirus, according to guidance from the American Heart Association (AHA). The good news is you can learn CPR online, which could help save the life of a family member.

The interim guidance, drawn mostly from CDC recommendations, focused on procedures that generate aerosols — such as CPR, endotracheal intubation, and non-invasive ventilation — and thus pose an extra risk for transmitting the virus that causes COVID-19.

Guide for Prehospital Care

“When COVID-19 is suspected in a patient needing emergency transport, prehospital care providers and healthcare facilities should be notified in advance that they may be caring for, transporting, or receiving a patient who may have COVID-19 infection,” the document says.

If dispatchers advise that COVID-19 is suspected, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel should follow Standard Precautions, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Appropriate PPE during an aerosol-generating procedure includes respiratory protection (N95s and similar respirators are preferred, but face masks can be used if not available), eye protection, a single pair of disposable gloves, and gowns.

Even if a patient has not been said to potentially have COVID-19, EMS workers should exercise appropriate precautions when responding to someone who may have a respiratory infection.

“Initial assessment should begin from a distance of at least 6 feet from the patient, if possible. Patient contact should be minimized to the extent possible until a facemask is on the patient,” according to CDC guidance cited by the AHA.

Precautions related to EMS equipment and the transport vehicle include:

  • Making sure bag-valve masks and other ventilatory equipment are equipped with HEPA filters
  • Opening the rear doors of the transport vehicle and activating the HVAC system during aerosol-generating procedures (this should be done away from pedestrian traffic)
  • Not allowing family and friends to ride in the transport vehicle with the person with possible COVID-19 (if they must ride along, they should wear a face mask)
  • Creating a negative pressure gradient in the patient area in the case where ventilation must be used and the vehicle does not have an isolated driver compartment: open the outside air vents in the driver area and turn on the rear exhaust ventilation fans to the highest setting

Protective Measures in the Hospital

Airborne Infection Isolation Rooms (AIIRs) are where aerosol-generating procedures such as CPR should be performed in the hospital.

There, the staff should have respiratory protection and the number of personnel present during the procedure should be limited to those essential for patient care and procedural support. These rooms should be cleaned and disinfected following each procedure.

AIIRs should be reserved for patients undergoing aerosol-generating procedures, not given to patients with known or suspected COVID-19. The latter should be cared for in a single-person room with the door closed, the CDC recommends.

As usual, hand hygiene and appropriate PPE were stressed for hospital staff working with patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

“If there are shortages of gowns, they should be prioritized for aerosol-generating procedures, care activities where splashes and sprays are anticipated, and high-contact patient care activities that provide opportunities for transfer of pathogens to the hands and clothing of providers,” the AHA guidance says.

Rapid sequence intubation with appropriate PPE is the preferred method of intubation. In general, aerosol-generating procedures (e.g., bag-valve mask, nebulizers, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation) should be avoided per recommendations attributed to the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists.

For patients with acute respiratory failure, the AHA suggested proceeding directly to endotracheal intubation. Avoiding high-flow nasal oxygenation and mask continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) will help reduce aerosol generation, it added.

Article Source: https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/85568

cpr woman reunited

Woman Reunited with Bystanders Who Performed Lifesaving CPR

A woman who nearly died at a Metro station was reunited with the people who helped save her life during a ceremony hosted by D.C.’s fire department on Saturday.

Arielle Baker, 29, has heart problems and went into cardiac arrest at the Columbia Heights Metro stop in early January.

She was saved by two bystanders who knew how to perform CPR.

“I’m so thankful for everyone who took it seriously and gave me another chance at life,” Baker said during the ceremony. “Had these women not been there for me, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t take that lightly.”

One of the bystanders, Kimberly Herrmann, is a doctor at Whitman-Walker Health in the District.

Herrmann said saving Baker was a “big team effort.” You can learn CPR online.

“It was unbelievable,” said Herrmann. “It was like it was in slow motion.”

Others credited with saving Baker’s life include Metro Transit Police officers who shocked her with a defibrillator and a D.C. Fire and EMS crew that got her to the hospital.

“This is just a true testament to the goodwill of people,” Baker said.

In all, the fire department honored 15 people who helped Baker that day.

They received medallions known as “Cardiac Arrest Save Coins,” which D.C. Fire and EMS award to lifesavers who help return a pulse to a pulseless patient before that patient is taken to a hospital.

The case becomes coin eligible when the patient is discharged from the hospital in good health.

“This is a celebration of life,” said Battalion Fire Chief Brian Alston. “Everything that could be done was done in an effort to bring the patient back to life.”

At one point Baker became choked up and wiped away tears as she said she would “never forget” those who helped her.

“I’m only 29-years-old and I have so much more that I want to do and I’m so thankful for everyone who gave up some of their time in order to save my life.”

News Source: https://wtop.com/dc/2020/02/dc-woman-reunited-with-bystanders-who-performed-lifesaving-cpr/