title: Effectiveness of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation performed by young adolescents on a mannequin.
abstract: Bystanders are reluctant to perform basic life support (BLS) because of fear of failure and of infection, especially with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (MTM). A possibility to enhance willingness could be the giving of MTM or BLS instructions at a very early age to the potential rescuers. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of MTM with respect to ventilation and the time needed for performing 5 ventilations. In this study, MTM was performed on a mannequin by 57 children and adolescents aged 10 and 14 years. This study showed that 14-year-olds effectively perform MTM, reaching the recommended tidal volumes. Ten-year-old children have already developed sufficient motor skills for MTM with no significant time differences compared with the 14-year-olds. However, physical demands may be rather high at this age. Further long-term studies are needed to investigate clinical benefits of early teaching of MTM or BLS that may lead to international guidelines with low age limits.
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Vienna, A 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Camillo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sherif
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Erdös
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sohm
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schönbauer
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rabitsch
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frass
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008348:Manikins; D012737:Sex Factors; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013990:Tidal Volume / Q000502:physiology