Question

Dispatch calls you to respond to a family home with a 6 year old child you were told that the child was found unresponsive in the backyard the scene is safe upon arrival and you enter with an AED

You check the child's pulse after two minutes of providing rescue breaths and cannot feel a pulse you immediately begin CPR after performing CPR for two more minutes the child still does not have a pulse and you are still alone what is your next step
a. Continue compressions
b. Getting used an AED
c. continue rescue breaths
d. wait for advanced life support providers to enter

Answer 1

If a child remains unresponsive and pulseless after initial CPR efforts, the rescuer should immediately use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The AED can diagnose the heart's condition and administer a shock, potentially restarting the heart. During this process, continued high-quality chest compressions are crucial.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a situation where you have a 6 year old child who is unresponsive and without a pulse even after two minutes of CPR, the next step would be to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Given that CPR has already been administered and the child still does not have a pulse, applying an AED is critical. AEDs are designed to be used by laypersons and will provide verbal instructions upon use. They can diagnose the heart condition and apply a shock with the appropriate energy to potentially restart the heart. Furthermore, AEDs can be essential in cases of cardiac or ventricular fibrillation by applying a controlled shock to terminate arrhythmia and allow the body's natural pacemaker to resume normal rhythm. As specified in emergency protocols, high-quality chest compressions should be continued until the AED is set up and ready for use, or until advanced support arrives.