TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- You hope you never need to use CPR on an infant or child, but it is important to know the proper techniques in case a cardio or breathing emergency ever occurs.
Marci Johnson, a registered nurse and CPR instructor with the 72nd Medical Group, offers classes at Tinker on CPR for infants and children.
Without oxygen, Ms. Johnson said, brain damage begins between three and five minutes, so it is critical to begin CPR as soon as possible.
The American Heart Association released its most updated CPR instruction plan in 2015. The standard is now compressions first, Ms. Johnson explained, followed by opening the airway and providing breaths.
Here is a step-by-step guide that could be used for simple reference:
1. Place the infant on a firm, flat surface.
2. Place two fingers in the center of the infant’s chest, just below the nipple line, on the lower half of the breastbone. Do not press the tip of the breastbone.
3. Give compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute.
4. Compress at least one third the AP diameter of the infant’s chest (about 1 1/2 inches, or 4 cm).
5. At the end of each compression, make sure you allow the chest to fully recoil (re-expand); do not lean on the chest. Chest compression and chest recoil/relaxation times should be about equal. Minimize interruptions in compressions (i.e. to give breaths) to less than 10 seconds.
6. After every 30 compressions, open the airway with a head tilt-chin lift and give two breaths, each over one second. The chest should rise with each breath.
7. After about five cycles or two minutes of CPR, if you are alone and the emergency response system has not been activated, leave the infant (or carry the infant with you) to activate the emergency response system and retrieve the AED.
8. Continue compressions and breaths in a ratio of 30:2, and use the AED as soon as it is available. Continue until advanced providers take over, or the infant begins to breathe, move or otherwise react.
The Good Samaritan Act (Title 76, Torts) exists in Oklahoma, which protects untrained rescuers if they, in good faith, render or attempt to render emergency care or CPR to a victim of an emergency accident.
“Preparing and learning how to respond in emergency situations can be the difference in life or death situations,” Ms. Johnson said.
Classes are always available. For more information or to enroll in a CPR class, call Family Advocacy at 582-6604.