Question

You enter Ms. Evers's room and notice she is slumped over in her chair and appears unresponsive and cyanotic. You do not see signs of life-threatening bleeding. Which is the next appropriate action?

-Simultaneously check breathing, a pulse and life-threatening bleeding.
-Check for responsiveness.
-Perform abdominal thrusts.
-Open the airway.

Answer 1

The first action should be to check for responsiveness. If there is no response, the next step is to open the airway and check for breathing and a pulse. If these are absent, CPR should be initiated immediately.

Step-by-step explanation:

When encountering an unresponsive individual like Ms. Evers, proper protocol dictates that the first action should be to check for responsiveness. If there is no response and no life-threatening bleeding is evident, the next step involves opening the airway to check for breathing and a pulse. This is a crucial step because if the individual is not breathing or lacks a pulse, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) may be required.

In cases where the person appears cyanotic, which indicates a severe lack of oxygen, and unresponsive, it is important not to confuse the situation with choking. Choking victims typically show signs such as clutching at the throat and are initially conscious. Moreover, abdominal thrusts, commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver, are only appropriate when the individual is conscious and showing signs of choking.

Since Ms. Evers is already unresponsive, after checking for responsiveness and opening the airway, if no breathing and pulse are detected, then CPR should be initiated, applying chest compressions at a rate of 100 compressions per minute. This emergency procedure can preserve brain function until further medical help arrives, as brain cells can suffer irreversible damage or death within minutes of oxygen deprivation.