Differences Between Adults, Children, and Infants CPR
Adults, children, and infants have different needs for CPR since there are significant differences in their body composition. CPR entails applying pressure to the chest and utilizing a piece of artificial ventilation equipment to keep the patient alive by keeping blood circulating and oxygen levels high enough. Although the chances of surviving and recovering from a cardiac arrest are slim, prompt and effective resuscitation, including defibrillation, is necessary. Ideally, proper post-arrest treatment can help improve survival and neurologic outcomes in some cases.
The differences are majorly in checking the pulse, calling 911, and rescue breaths. To begin with, when conducting adult CPR, one should contact 911 immediately. This should be done when a person has a blocked airway. The next difference is rescue breaths, where CPR in adults only allows the use of hands. Since children have complicated airwaves, it is essential to be careful when tilting their heads back to avoid blocking the airway. While infants have a complex system, tilting the head backward is not recommended since it can block their airways easily (Gregson & Peters, 2019). In pulse, one can check an adult through the carotid artery. However, infants differ in checking pulse, and one should look at the upper arm instead of the carotid artery as in children and adults.
How AED Changes with Age
Patient age has a significant impact on selecting antiepileptic drugs (AED) for many reasons. It is evident that brain physiology changes from childhood to adulthood. Ideally, there are underlying changes in the etiology of epilepsy, which affect the ability of AEDs to control seizures. Beyond some age, some drugs may be less appropriate since pharmacokinetics differ. As one grows, they experience changes in elimination, absorption, and metabolism. For instance, young people lack suitable drug formulations, making it a barrier to using some drugs at a young age. Hence the management of epilepsy is much dependent on the age of individuals.
How an Advanced Airway Changes the Way CPR is Performed for Adults and Children
When victims have an advanced airway, there are ways they should be handled according to their age. For instance, a child cannot be dealt with the same way an adult will be handled. For an adult, there is supposed to be one breath every 6 to 8 seconds without pauses and compressions if an advanced airway is used. In children, it is supposed to be one breath after every 2-3 seconds. Adults should have 30 compressions followed by two breaths in situations with no advanced airway, while children should have 15 contractions followed by two breaths.
Reference
Gregson, R. K., & Peters, M. J. (2019). Appropriate CPR techniques for carers of infants outside of the hospital. Web.