Paediatric basic life
support
The main objective is to achieve sufficient
oxygenation and perfusion to protect the vital
organs.
Why might a child have a
cardiorespiratory arrest?
• Cardiac arrest is less common in infants and
children
• The cause is usually secondary to hypoxia
• Signifies the body is no longer able to cope
with illness
• The initial problem may originate from the
airway, breathing or circulation
• It is rarely a sudden event, there are usually a
lot of clinical signs of deterioration
Outcomes of cardiorespiratory
arrest
, • Usually poor, the body has often compensated
for long time before it gets to this stage.
• Even if return of spontaneous circulation
(ROSC) is achieved, mortality and morbidity is
still high.
• Successful resuscitation out of hospital is only
happens in 5-12% of cases, and less than 5%
will survive without neurological implications.
• If cardiorespiratory arrest takes place in
hospital, the chance of successful resuscitation
is as high as 70%, however there is still a high
chance of multi-organ failure following
resuscitation.
• 35-40% of children will survive until discharge
• If the resus is for respiratory arrest alone then
the survival rate is 70-90%.
support
The main objective is to achieve sufficient
oxygenation and perfusion to protect the vital
organs.
Why might a child have a
cardiorespiratory arrest?
• Cardiac arrest is less common in infants and
children
• The cause is usually secondary to hypoxia
• Signifies the body is no longer able to cope
with illness
• The initial problem may originate from the
airway, breathing or circulation
• It is rarely a sudden event, there are usually a
lot of clinical signs of deterioration
Outcomes of cardiorespiratory
arrest
, • Usually poor, the body has often compensated
for long time before it gets to this stage.
• Even if return of spontaneous circulation
(ROSC) is achieved, mortality and morbidity is
still high.
• Successful resuscitation out of hospital is only
happens in 5-12% of cases, and less than 5%
will survive without neurological implications.
• If cardiorespiratory arrest takes place in
hospital, the chance of successful resuscitation
is as high as 70%, however there is still a high
chance of multi-organ failure following
resuscitation.
• 35-40% of children will survive until discharge
• If the resus is for respiratory arrest alone then
the survival rate is 70-90%.
