Basic life support
Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening condition of cardiac arrest until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians or any trained general personnel). It can be provided by trained medical personnel, such as emergency medical technicians, qualified bystanders and anybody who is trained for providing BLS and/or ACLS .
For techniques and equipment for keeping a patient alive longer term, see life support.Background[edit]
The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) was formed in 1992 to coordinate the efforts of resuscitation worldwide. The ILCOR representatives come from various countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and from the European, Asian, and African continents. In 2000, the committee published the first resuscitation guideline. In 2005, the committee published International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Science with Treatment Recommendations. Since 2010, the committee has provided materials for regional resuscitation providers such as European Resuscitation Council and American Heart Association to write their own guidelines.[1] Since 2015, ILCOR has used a new methodology called Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations (COSTR) to evaluate the quality of latest evidence available and to reach a conclusion on the best treatments available in resuscitation.[2] Using the COSTR methodology, ILCOR also started to conduct yearly reviews and published updates on the latest evidence in resuscitation, changing it from the previous 5-yearly review on resuscitation.[3]
CPR provided in the field increases the time available for higher medical responders to arrive and provide ALS care. An important advance in providing BLS is the availability of the automated external defibrillator or AED. This improves survival outcomes in cardiac arrest cases.[4]
Method[edit]
D - Danger[edit]
One of the first checks done in emergency response is to assess the situation for any danger. If the person does not remove themselves or others from the danger then they are liable to become a patient and require emergency assistance themselves or become unable to render assistance for the other patient. Examples of dangerous situations which should cease before BLS is administered are electrocution, assault, drowning, burning etc.
R - Response[edit]
Checking for response is the next step in emergency situations as continuing with other forceful methods of BLS could exacerbate the patient's condition and can be seen as assault. AVPU (Alert, Verbal, Pain, Unconscious) is the commonly used acronym for quickly assessing the level of consciousness in a patient. Pain stimulus in particular should be used with caution as many methods if done incorrectly can leave bruises (sternal rub for example) commonly used methods for central stimulus are the trapezius squeeze and for peripheral stimulus it is squeezing the side of the finger.
S - Send for help[edit]
Sending for help allows much more assistance to be rendered upon the patient and increases their chances of receiving ALS.
A - Airway[edit]
Opening of the airway via the Jaw Thrust maneuver is the preferred method as the head-tilt maneuver is thought to be more risky for people with suspected spinal injury. If the person is in danger of pulmonary aspiration then they should be placed in the recovery position or more advanced airway management should be used.
B - Breathing[edit]
Once the airway has been opened checking for breathing should begin, if the respiratory rate is below 12-20 breaths per minute then CPR should begin, however if the patient is breathing normally then the rescuer should place them in the recovery position and summon an ambulance.
Indications[edit]
Cardiac arrest[edit]
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping in a regular rhythm. In this situation, early defibrillation is the key to returning the patient's heart back to a normal rhythm. When a defibrillator is not readily available, a rescuer or bystander should keep the blood flowing by performing chest compressions and rescue breaths at an age-appropriate rate until it is.
Respiratory Arrest[edit]
Respiratory arrest is when there is no measurable breathing in a patient. It tends to occur in conjunction with cardiac arrest, but this is not always the case. Respiratory arrest is the most common indication of BLS in infants and toddlers. The most critical factor in restoring breathing in the patient is to provide high quality rescue breaths.
Shock[edit]
Shock, also known as Inadequate Tissue Perfusion, is a life-threatening condition that occurs as a result of the disruption to 3 major components of the cardiovascular system: Heart Function, Blood Vessel Function, and Blood Volume. Perfusion describes the process of adequate blood flow to the organs, where the waste and reactants that are involved in cellular respiration are removed or transported throughout the 3 parts of the cardiovascular system for metabolism to be processed effectively.[5] However, if one part were to fail, important resources for cellular respiration such as oxygen would not be able to reach the organs that needs it function.[6] In an attempt to compensate, the body diverts blood to organs that cannot tolerate the lack of blood, such as the heart and the brain, resulting in widespread vasoconstriction, or thinning of the blood vessels.[7] Consequently, blood is prevented from reaching organs that can tolerate the lack of perfusion, or hypoperfusion, in organs such as the skin, resulting in the typical presentation of pale and clammy skin conditions during shock. Moreover, disruptions may present specifically to each component or multiple systems may be affected at the same time, which generally results in the 3 designated types of shock: Obstructive, Distributive, Hypovolemic.[8] Typically, patients would have a presentation of shock at the Compensated, Decompensated, and Irreversible Stage.[9]
Drowning[edit]
In cases of drowning, rescuers should provide CPR as soon as an unresponsive patient is removed from the water. In particular, rescue breathing is important in this situation. A lone rescuer is typically advised to give CPR for a short time before leaving the patient to call emergency medical services. Since the primary cause of cardiac arrest and death in drowning and choking patients is hypoxemia, it is recommended to start with rescue breaths before proceeding to chest compressions (if pulseless). If the patient presents in a shockable rhythm, early defibrillation is still recommended.
Technique[edit]
United States[edit]
Basic Life Support Emergency Medical Services in the United States are generally identified with Emergency Medical Technicians-Basic (EMT-B). EMT-B is the highest level of healthcare provider that is limited to the BLS protocol; higher medical functions use some or all of the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) protocols, in addition to BLS protocols. However, the American Heart Association's BLS protocol is designed for use by laypeople, as well as students and others certified first responder, and to some extent, higher medical function personnel.
BLS for Healthcare Providers Course
According to the American Heart Association, in order to be certified in BLS, a student must take an online or in-person course. However, an online BLS course must be followed with an in-person skills session in order to obtain a certification issued by The American Heart Association.[10]
Chain of survival
The American Heart Association highlights the most important steps of BLS in a "five-link chain of survival."[11] The chain of survival includes early recognition of an ongoing emergency, early initiation of CPR by a bystander, early use of a defibrillator, and early advanced life support once more qualified medical help arrives. Qualified bystanders with training in BLS are encouraged to perform the first three steps of the five-link chain of survival.
High Quality CPR