Question

Your protocols state that during the first few minutes of working on a cardiac arrest patient, you should provide passive ventilation. This means that you will:

A. Deliver positive pressure ventilation at a rate of only five or six breaths per minute.
B. Time your positive pressure ventilation's to occur during chest recoil.
C. Ventilate with a bag valve mask that is not attached to oxygen.
D. Allow recoil of the chest between compressions to draw air into the lungs

Answer 1

Passive ventilation during CPR refers to allowing the chest to recoil between compressions, which draws air into the lungs without active intervention.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept mentioned in the question is related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), specifically during the initial management of a cardiac arrest patient. In the context of the question, providing passive ventilation refers to option D, which is to allow recoil of the chest between compressions to draw air into the lungs. This is based on current resuscitation guidelines, which emphasize the importance of high-quality chest compressions over artificial respiration early in CPR. Passive oxygenation occurs as a result of the natural recoil of the chest after each compression, thus reducing interruptions in chest compressions. This recoil creates a negative pressure that can draw air into the lungs passively, without the need for active ventilation with a bag-valve mask or other device.