Pediatric CPR: How to Perform CPR on Pediatric Patients?

By Cristiano Antonino On Apr 7, 2023

Pediatric CPR applies to infants less than one year of age and children up to puberty or children weighing less than 121 pounds

Rescuers who need to respond to pediatric emergencies should be fully competent in pediatric resuscitation and must follow the American Heart Association Guidelines.

If you are a parent, guardian, child care provider, or an ordinary person who wants to save a life in an emergency, this article will discuss everything you need to know about pediatric CPR.

What is Pediatric CPR?

Pediatric CPR or resuscitation is a lifesaving procedure done when the child’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.

This may happen after drowning, poisoning, suffocation, choking, or an injury.

Pediatric CPR involves rescue breathing, which provides oxygen to a child’s lungs, and chest compressions, which keep the child’s blood circulating.

If a child’s blood flow stops, permanent brain damage or death can occur within minutes.

Therefore, you must continue doing CPR until the heartbeat and breathing return or until emergency medical services help arrive.

Survival to discharge in children with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest varies by age: 13% in children, 4. 9% in infants, and 17% in adolescents.

What’s the difference between Pediatric and Standard CPR?

Pediatric patients differ anatomically and physiologically from adults in many aspects that can affect resuscitation.

For example, a child’s jaw is shorter than adults’, reducing the available room to maneuver.

Although Pediatric CPR is very similar to adult CPR, rescuers should start CPR before calling Emergency Number.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, if you’re the only person around and need to choose between starting the resuscitation and calling Emergency Number, go for the CPR.

Why? Because children are more resilient, and their chances of survival are much higher if you begin CPR immediately.

After two minutes of CPR with rescue breathing, call Emergency Number.

How to Perform Pediatric CPR?

Before you give CPR to a pediatric patient, it’s essential to check the scene first for safety and form an initial impression.

Then, obtain consent from the parent or guardian, and use personal protective equipment (PPE).

If the child or baby appears unresponsive, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation by following these steps:

Step 1: Check for Responsiveness

Check if the pediatric patient will respond.

To do this, just tap the heel of the baby’s foot and call his or her name to see if he responds.

Step 2: Call Emergency Number

If the pediatric patient does not respond, ask someone to call Emergency Number or the emergency medical services team.

If you are alone, use your phone to call Emergency Number and put it on speakerphone while you start CPR.

Step 3: Turn the baby flat on his back on a hard surface

For a child, kneel beside the victim.

For a baby, stand or kneel to the victim’s side with your hips at a slight angle.

Look at the patient’s face and check if the baby is breathing.

Check for at least 5 seconds, but no more than 10 seconds.

Step 4: Give 30 Chest Compressions

If the pediatric patient is not breathing, do the proper child CPR hand placement.

To do this, draw an imaginary line between the nipples to find the middle of the breastbone.

Then place the heel of one hand (for a small child) in the center of the victim’s chest.

Push down hard and fast, about 2 inches deep.

The chest compression rate for child is 100 to 120 compressions per minute.

For a baby, place both thumbs on the center of the chest.

Use the other fingers to encircle the victim’s chest toward the back, providing support.

Then push down and fast about 1 ½ inch at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute, using both thumbs simultaneously.

Allow chest recoil after each compression.

Step 5: Give 2 Rescue Breaths

After you give 30 chest compressions, open the baby’s airway for mouth-to-mouth breathing using the head lift-chin lift method.

Then blow into the child or baby’s mouth for about 1 second.

Give one rescue breath every 3-5 seconds (12-20 rescue breaths per minute) and ensure that each breath makes the chest rise.

Since the lungs of the babies are small, only small puffs of air are needed to fill them.

If the first breath does not cause chest rise, tilt the head again and ensure a proper seal before giving the second breath.

Step 6: Repeat the cycle

Continue CPR by giving sets of 30 chest compressions and 2 breaths until you notice obvious signs of life, if an AED is ready to use, or if EMS personnel arrive and begin their care.

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