your thoughts on what is now being said about CPR?

Question

today i read the paper and they are now saying that possibly you should only do chest comparisions not mouth to mouth what are your thoughts?
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/...
thats the website article

Additional Details

0 seconds ago
when i was taught it was 15:2 now its 30:2.

but in my opion the numbers dont matter. its just the fact you compress the heart and get air in.


also whats your opion on breaking the ribs when u do it correct do break the ribs

what i ment by the numbers dont really matter
is if the only thing holding you back from doing CPR is that you dont remember how many comprisions to how many breathers just do it cuz anything is better then nothing

Answer 1

Oh boy, I hope I don't step in it here. I've been a medic/firefighter for 25 years. When I sign my "source" of info 50,000 911 runs I actually mean it. I worked in a very busy system. I have no idea how many times we've done CPR. I am going to say, and meaning insult to no one, that I have thought so many times "How crude this is", these attempts to circulate blood by external compressions, especially when they are continually interrupted by ventilations, checks for pulses, intubating, meds , defibs and etc. Worse yet, I have absolutely no better ideas to offer. Right now, CPR is the best we can do {aside from other ALS measures.} I do know that someday we {the medical community} and society in general will look back on "the old CPR" and just shake our heads and wonder "What the hell were we thinking...it was barbaric".

Answer 2

Any form of CPR is better than none. CPR is intended to keep a victim alive until medical aid arrives.
So the sooner CPR is started the better the outcome for the casualty.

The 30:2 ratio for infant/child and adult (not new born) not only keeps the blood pressure at a fairly even level, but provides uninterrupted chest compressions. There is also the ease of teaching, and remembering these ratio's.

The only difference is the delivery of breath between infant, child and adult. And head tilt, infant (none) child (slight) adult (full).

There is some reluctance by some people to do rescue breaths due to fear of catching a communicable disease. Which is why people will walk away from a situation. So if teaching people to do "Compressions only" meant that more people were willing to help then, it is possibly a good thing.

However if your able to do rescue breathing do.

AED's do not replace CPR but aids the rescuer in CPR. AED's once turned on will talk the person throughout the procedure. Once set up and adhesive electrode pads are in place, on the bare chest of casualty, the AED
automatically analyze the person's ECG rhythm to determine if a shock is required. If a shock is required the AED will deliver a shock, the AED will then tell you to recommence CPR if needed.

As for breaking ribs it does happen, but don't stop, you may just need to reposition your hands a little. A broken rib is easy enough to recover from, death is final.

Answer 3

You're right...some CPR is better than no CPR. Rescue breathing should not be discontinued. A person can survive lack of oxygen up to 4 minutes before brain damage sets in.

Your best bet is 2-man CPR. One person compresses, the other breathes. Then you can switch. CPR is very tiring.

Using an AED is NOT CPR. The AED does not perform compressions or rescue breathing. The AED will analyze the heart rhythm and determine if a shock is needed. Listen to the AED. It will talk you through the procedure. Don't be afraid of it. If the AED says "shock not recommended, continue CPR", follow the instructions. Yes, AEDs do talk.

Ribs will break. I've broken ribs before. Don't let that stop you. Keep going.

Don't stop CPR until emergency personnel (like myself) physically take over.

You will hurt. CPR strains the shoulders. It's exhausting. It's hard work. But you will feel good knowing that you did something for someone in their time of need.

Answer 4

Current research simply states that it is felt that more and proper chest compressions do a better job of keeping the blood circulating than stopping compressions to give breaths too frequently.
You should still perform rescue breathing for the victim, just not as frequently. And yes, it is very common to break the ribs when doing proper compressions. In order to compress the heart sufficiently to get the blood flowing you really do need to compress it quite deeply. When a person is dying the last thing you need to worry about is breaking a few ribs however.
As far as, the numbers don't matter, well, they do and they don't. If you do nothing the victim will surely die. If you at least attempt cpr the victim has a chance, not a great one, but at least a chance. If you do cpr correctly you at the least increase the victims chances of survival until more advanced medical care is available. And correctly has been deemed to be more compressions and less concern about ventilation, but its still important.

Answer 5

I would agree with more chest compressions and less mouth to mouth. for one, the air won't get in unless the patient's airway is properly opened. Sounds simple, but when you are in a panic, you would be surprised how this can get missed. Another point to ponder is that rescue breaths aren't getting in the percentage of oxygen into the patient they would breathe in on their own. The patient is getting a mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Chest compressions will add least circulate some oxygen rich blood to the brain and other vital organs, and less stopping between compressions and breaths would be better overall and more efficient. I think less steps for the layperson will mean more people will attempt CPR.
As far as rib breaking, I have seen that happen several times as a nurse, ESPECIALLY with elderly patients. In my experience, the breakage had nothing to do with poor technique, just old bones. If you are doing CPR on someone, broken ribs are the least of their problems. But this is just my conjecture.

Answer 6

What all that has been said is true. ribs do break, which is easier to get over a broken rib or death? an AED will work better if there is fresh blood loaded with o2 in the vessels of the heart.

One of the reasons that the number of times you compress the chest has went from 15 to 30 it was found that it takes several compressions after you have stop ed for a breath to get the pressure up in the vessels to get the blood circulating again.

Answer 7

I've been required to have current CPR certificates for 30 years. It really doesn't matter what "I" think, I just need to learn what "THEY" think. Trends change as facts evolve. If science shows something is going to work better, than OK. Cracking ribs can happen, especially in frail older people. As they say, it's a better alternative than death which is why you're doing CPR in the first place.

Answer 8

I belive that yes something is better than nothing in this sence bad CPR is better than none. But not breathing for the PT the brian will die and your compressions will be highly unefective beacause you need both blood and O2 to get to the brain to support life

Answer 9

You still need to breathe for the patient. Any circuliation is useless if there is no oxygen in the blood. Either way, I would rather have an AED available, they work a lot better than CPR does.

Answer 10

If there is no oxygen, you can see the symptoms of hypoxia. I don't really know what to say, it's up to the CPR big wigs.

You will break ribs when doing CPR, it's gonna happen.