Question

You are providing rescue breathing to an unresponsive, nonbreathing child who shows signs of circulation. How often should you provide rescue breaths for this child?

a) Every 3 seconds
b) Every 5 seconds
c) Every 6 seconds
d) Every 10 seconds

Answer 1

Rescue breaths should be provided to a nonbreathing child with signs of circulation every 3-5 seconds for infants and every 5-6 seconds for children and adolescents. The timing is meant to ensure adequate oxygen delivery to prevent brain cell death from lack of oxygen.

Step-by-step explanation:

When providing rescue breathing to an unresponsive, nonbreathing child who shows signs of circulation, you should provide rescue breaths at a rate of one breath every 3-5 seconds for infants (under 1 year old) and one breath every 5-6 seconds for children and adolescents (1 year old to puberty). It is critical to remember that these timings are designed to ensure that enough oxygen is delivered to the brain to minimize damage or death of brain cells, which can occur within minutes if the brain goes without oxygen.

The importance of rescue breathing in CPR cannot be overstated, especially in situations like drowning where CPR should be initiated as soon as possible. The Apgar score, an assessment conducted on newborns that includes evaluating respiration, indicates the urgency for resuscitation if the scores for heart rate and respiration are low. For older children, following the proper rescue breathing cadence is essential since the normal respiratory rate decreases from infancy to adolescence.