Initiating ALS Module 1: Questions and
Answers | Latest Version | 2024/2025 |
Rated A+
What is the primary goal of initiating Advanced Life Support (ALS)?
✔✔ The primary goal of ALS is to restore blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues,
building upon the foundation of Basic Life Support (BLS).
What are the three essential steps for initiating ALS?
✔✔ The three steps are: attaching and interpreting monitoring equipment, establishing vascular
access, and administering reversal agents.
What is the importance of ECG monitoring in ALS?
✔✔ ECG monitoring is crucial in ALS as it provides the primary decision point for diagnosis
and treatment, allowing responders to identify the underlying cardiac rhythm and initiate
appropriate interventions.
,What is the significance of attaching ECG leads?
✔✔ ECG leads should be attached as soon as possible after initiating BLS, as it provides critical
information for diagnosis and treatment.
What skills should all responders possess when it comes to ECG diagnosis?
✔✔ All responders should be comfortable with basic assessment of the ECG rhythm and
diagnosis of the four primary CPA rhythms.
How should ECG equipment be maintained?
✔✔ ECG equipment should be kept in a "ready state" with leads attached, with alligator clips or
adhesive electrode patches and contact gel available, and all team members should be familiar
with operating the monitor and rapidly placing leads on the patient.
Equipment in "ready state": ✔✔ECG monitor with leads attached
Clips or stick-on electrode patches readily available
Gel to improve contact
,All team members should know how to use the monitor and attach the leads
Benefits of Properly Maintained Equipment ✔✔When the ECG is kept in a ready state at all
times, the equipment can be efficiently attached to a patient in the event of a crisis such as
cardiopulmonary arrest.
Consequences of Improperly Maintained Equipment ✔✔When the ECG monitor is not regularly
checked to ensure that all required equipment is available, it is likely to lead to delays in
obtaining a rhythm diagnosis in a crisis.
Attaching ECG Leads ✔✔For monitoring during CPR, a 3-lead ECG electrode configuration is
usually adequate.
Lead Placement
For the 3-lead system, ECG electrodes are generally placed on the right forelimb, the left
forelimb, and the left hindlimb. ✔✔In the U.S., the leads are most commonly color coded, as
follows: white = right forelimb; black = left forelimb; red = left hindlimb.
, Ideally, leads are placed in the proper locations, but if you cannot remember where they are
supposed to go, simply place the leads on three different limbs and you will obtain an ECG
tracing that will be sufficient for CPR.
Connection with the Patient
There are a number of ECG electrode styles available, but in dogs and cats, alligator clamp
electrodes or disposable, pre-gelled adhesive electrodes are used most commonly.
For alligator clamp electrodes, a coupling material is needed to provide a low resistance contact
through the fur to the skin. ✔✔Pre-gelled adhesive electrodes are preferred during CPR. They
can be placed on the foot pads of the appropriate limbs and quickly taped into place using white
medical tape. They are much less likely to become dislodged than alligator clamp electrodes
during chest compressions and movement of the patient.
Improving Contact
Electrode gel will improve contact between the electrode and the patient and give a cleaner ECG
signal.
Non-flammable coupling gels should always be used for electrodes that are not pre-gelled.
✔✔Avoiding Alcohol
Answers | Latest Version | 2024/2025 |
Rated A+
What is the primary goal of initiating Advanced Life Support (ALS)?
✔✔ The primary goal of ALS is to restore blood flow and oxygen delivery to the tissues,
building upon the foundation of Basic Life Support (BLS).
What are the three essential steps for initiating ALS?
✔✔ The three steps are: attaching and interpreting monitoring equipment, establishing vascular
access, and administering reversal agents.
What is the importance of ECG monitoring in ALS?
✔✔ ECG monitoring is crucial in ALS as it provides the primary decision point for diagnosis
and treatment, allowing responders to identify the underlying cardiac rhythm and initiate
appropriate interventions.
,What is the significance of attaching ECG leads?
✔✔ ECG leads should be attached as soon as possible after initiating BLS, as it provides critical
information for diagnosis and treatment.
What skills should all responders possess when it comes to ECG diagnosis?
✔✔ All responders should be comfortable with basic assessment of the ECG rhythm and
diagnosis of the four primary CPA rhythms.
How should ECG equipment be maintained?
✔✔ ECG equipment should be kept in a "ready state" with leads attached, with alligator clips or
adhesive electrode patches and contact gel available, and all team members should be familiar
with operating the monitor and rapidly placing leads on the patient.
Equipment in "ready state": ✔✔ECG monitor with leads attached
Clips or stick-on electrode patches readily available
Gel to improve contact
,All team members should know how to use the monitor and attach the leads
Benefits of Properly Maintained Equipment ✔✔When the ECG is kept in a ready state at all
times, the equipment can be efficiently attached to a patient in the event of a crisis such as
cardiopulmonary arrest.
Consequences of Improperly Maintained Equipment ✔✔When the ECG monitor is not regularly
checked to ensure that all required equipment is available, it is likely to lead to delays in
obtaining a rhythm diagnosis in a crisis.
Attaching ECG Leads ✔✔For monitoring during CPR, a 3-lead ECG electrode configuration is
usually adequate.
Lead Placement
For the 3-lead system, ECG electrodes are generally placed on the right forelimb, the left
forelimb, and the left hindlimb. ✔✔In the U.S., the leads are most commonly color coded, as
follows: white = right forelimb; black = left forelimb; red = left hindlimb.
, Ideally, leads are placed in the proper locations, but if you cannot remember where they are
supposed to go, simply place the leads on three different limbs and you will obtain an ECG
tracing that will be sufficient for CPR.
Connection with the Patient
There are a number of ECG electrode styles available, but in dogs and cats, alligator clamp
electrodes or disposable, pre-gelled adhesive electrodes are used most commonly.
For alligator clamp electrodes, a coupling material is needed to provide a low resistance contact
through the fur to the skin. ✔✔Pre-gelled adhesive electrodes are preferred during CPR. They
can be placed on the foot pads of the appropriate limbs and quickly taped into place using white
medical tape. They are much less likely to become dislodged than alligator clamp electrodes
during chest compressions and movement of the patient.
Improving Contact
Electrode gel will improve contact between the electrode and the patient and give a cleaner ECG
signal.
Non-flammable coupling gels should always be used for electrodes that are not pre-gelled.
✔✔Avoiding Alcohol
