Basic life support for adults
Basic life support has been described as ‘maintenance of a clear airway and support of breathing and the circulation in cases of cardiac arrest, without the use of equipment other than a simple airway device or protective shield’ (Handley, 2014).
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Key Points
- Have awareness of the importance of early recognition and deterioration of patient status
- Understand airway management and ventilation within the basic life support (BLS) process
- Improve knowledge of clinical guidance on the BLS process for adult patients, theoretical principles and correct technique
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Overview
Basic life support (BLS) has been described as:
maintenance of a clear airway and support of breathing and the circulation in cases of cardiac arrest, without the use of equipment other than a simple airway device or protective shield
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is defined as:
the combination of chest compression and rescue breathing and forms the basis of modern BLS.
In 2015, the BLS guideline from the Resuscitation Council UK was expanded to include the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) (Perkins et al, 2021). See first aid - CPR for how to use AEDs.
Why do it?
Successful resuscitation is extremely unlikely without the use of a defibrillator. However, chances of survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are two to three times higher if CPR has been performed prior to the arrival of the ambulance; for each minute
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Conclusion
Effective CPR requires rapid identification of the arrested patient and starting chest compressions as soon as possible. However, chest compressions and ventilations are unlikely to be sufficient in themselves to resuscitate a patient. It is therefore essential that a call for help is made at an early, appropriate point in the process to ensure that a defibrillator arrives as soon as possible.
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Resources
References
Handley AJ. Basic life support. BMJ. 2014;348:g1730. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1730
Idris AH, Guffey D, Aufderheide et al. Relationship between chest compression rates and outcomes from cardiac arrest. Circulation. 2012; 125(24):3004–3012. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.059535
Idris AH, Guffey D, Pepe PE et al. Chest compression rates and survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Crit Care Med. 2015;43(4):840–848. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000000824
Koster RW. Modern BLS, dispatch and AED concepts. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2013;27(3):327–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpa.2013.07.005
NHS England. New ambulance standards. 2017. https://www.england.nhs.uk/urgent-emergency-care/arp/ (accessed 10 December 2018)
Nursing and Midwifery Council. The code: professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. 2018 (updated version of document published in 2015). https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf (accessed 10 December 2018)
Perkins GD, Colquhoun M, Deakin CD et al. Adult basic life support guidelines 2021. https://www.resus.org.uk/library/2021-resuscitation-guidelines/adult-basic-life-support-guidelines (accessed 23 November 2022)
Vadeboncoeur T, Stolz U, Panchal A et al. Chest compression depth and survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Resuscitation. 2014;85(2):182–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2013.10.002
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