Esplana, Mayrick

Basic

life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with lifethreatening illness or injury until the patient can be given full medical care. It can be provided by trained medical personnel, including emergency medical technicians, and by laypersons who have received BLS training. BLS is generally used in the pre-hospital setting, and can be provided without medical equipment.

Airway: the protection and maintenance of a clear passageway for gases (principally oxygen and carbon dioxide) to pass between the lungs and the outside of the body Breathing: inflation and deflation of the lungs (respiration) via the airway Circulation: providing an adequate blood supply to the body, especially critical organs, so as to deliver oxygen to all cells and remove carbon dioxide, via the perfusion of blood throughout the body.

 Drowning
Hypothermia Foreign

body

airway obstruction (choking)

 typically

describes an emergency medical technician (EMT) licensed to perform advanced life support skills as an EMTParamedic, commonly referred to simply as a paramedic or medic. ALS also includes higher level of care than that of a paramedic, like those performed by physicians or nurses.

Cardiac monitoring Cardiac defibrillation Transcutaneous pacing Intravenous cannulation (IV) Intraosseous (IO) access and intraosseous infusion Surgical cricothyrotomy Needle cricothyrotomy needle decompression of tension pneumothorax Advanced medication administration through parenteral and enteral routes (IV, IO, PO, PR, ET, SL, topical, and transdermal)

 ALS

is a treatment consensus for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in cardiac arrest and related medical problems, as agreed in Europe by the European Resuscitation Council, most recently in 2005. It is practiced by in-hospital cardiac arrest teams, which generally consist of junior doctors from various specialties (anesthetics, general or internal medicine). Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are often skilled in ALS, although they may employ slightly modified version of the algorithm.

The main algorithm of ALS, which is invoked when actual cardiac arrest has been established, relies on the monitoring of the electrical activity of the heart on a cardiac monitor. Depending on the type of cardiac arrhythmia, defibrillation is applied, and medication is administered. Oxygen is administered and endotracheal intubation may be attempted to secure the airway. At regular intervals, the effect of the treatment on the heart rhythm, as well as the presence of cardiac output, is assessed. While CPR is given (either manually, or through automated equipment such as Auto Pulse), members of the team consider eight forms of potentially reversible causes for cardiac arrest, commonly abbreviated as "6Hs & 5Ts" according to the new 2005 AHA ACLS.

 Hypoxia:

low oxygen levels in the blood Hypovolemia: low amount of circulating blood, either absolutely due to blood loss or relatively due to vasodilatation Hyperkalemia or hypokalemia: disturbances in the level of potassium in the blood, and related disturbances of calcium or magnesium levels. Hypothermia: body temperature not maintained Hypoglycemia: Low blood glucose levels

Tension pneumothorax: tear in the lung leading to collapsed lung and twisting of the large blood vessels Tamponade: fluid or blood in the pericardium, compressing the heart Toxic and/or therapeutic: chemicals, whether medication or poisoning Thromboembolism and related mechanical obstruction (blockage of the blood vessels to the lungs or the heart by a blood clot or other material) Trauma (Hypovolemia): Reduced blood volume.