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CPR - child (1 to 8 yrs old)

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CPR - child (1 to 8 yrs old)

Definition:

CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is performed when a child's breathing or heartbeat has stopped, as in cases of drowning, suffocation, choking, or injuries. CPR is a combination of:

• Rescue breathing, which provides oxygen to a child's lungs
• Chest compressions, which keep the child's blood circulating.

Permanent brain damage or death can occur within minutes if a child's blood flow stops. Therefore, you must continue these procedures until the child's heartbeat and breathing return, or trained medical help arrives.

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Alternative Names:
Rescue breathing and chest compressions - child; Resuscitation - cardiopulmonary - child; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation - child

Considerations:

CPR can be lifesaving, but it is best performed by those who have been trained in an accredited CPR course. The procedures described here are not a substitute for CPR training.

All parents and those who take care of children should learn infant and child CPR if they haven't already. This jewel of knowledge is something no parent should be without. (See www.americanheart.org for classes near you.)

Time is very important when dealing with an unconscious child who is not breathing. Permanent brain damage begins after only 4 minutes without oxygen, and death can occur in as little as 4 to 6 minutes later.

Causes:

In children, major reasons that heartbeat and breathing stop include drowning, suffocation, choking, head trauma or serious injury, excessive bleeding, electrical shock, poisoning, and lung disease.

References:

Marx JA, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th Ed. St. Louis, Mo.: London: Mosby; 2002:83.