Question

An unresponsive 7-year-old child with no pulse is brought to the pediatric urgent care center by his parents and CPR is initiated. The cardiac monitor reveals ventricular fibrillation. Which action would the PALS team take first?

Select the correct answer to this question.
A. Continue with CPR.
B. Administer epinephrine.
C. Initiate cardioversion.
D. Initiate defibrillation with 2 J/kg.

Answer 1

The first action the PALS team should take for a child in ventricular fibrillation is initiating defibrillation with a dose of 2 J/kg, which is the immediate treatment to restore normal heart rhythm.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the case of a 7-year-old child presenting with ventricular fibrillation, the first action the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) team would take is initiating defibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening condition where the heart beats erratically, preventing effective blood pumping.

The most common and immediate treatment for ventricular fibrillation is defibrillation, which delivers a controlled electrical shock to the heart to restore a normal rhythm. For a child, the initial defibrillation dose is 2 J/kg. If CPR is already in progress, it should be briefly paused to deliver the shock, then immediately resumed until the next rhythm check or shock is given.