Effectiveness of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation performed by young adolescents on a mannequin.
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.
Sherif
Camillo
C
Intensive Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Vienna, A 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Erdös
Josef
J
Sohm
Michael
M
Schönbauer
Robert
R
Rabitsch
Werner
W
Schuster
Ernst
E
Frass
Michael
M
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