Basic Life Support and CPR

As recommended by the Resuscitation Council (UK), dental practitioners and other dental healthcare staff should undertake cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training on an annual basis. By doing this, professionals can stay updated on CPR practices and will be able to act quickly should they need to perform CPR.

Yes, Basic Life Support (BLS) includes CPR alongside its other set of life saving first aid techniques. According to the guidelines set out by the Resuscitation Council (UK), CPR and Chain of Survival will need to be administered when dealing with an unresponsive non-breathing casualty.

BLS in dentistry means Basic Life Support, which consists of a range of life saving first aid techniques that may have to be administered in medical emergencies.

The Basic Life Support (BLS) guidelines set out by the Resuscitation Council (UK) include: Safe management of an incident, Deal with an unresponsive breathing casualty by putting them in the recovery position, Administer back slaps and abdominal thrusts when dealing with a choking casualty that is both mild and severe, Use an Automated External Defibrillator if available

Airway – Any obstruction to the airway can lead to significant damage. If it is not treated, the brain, kidneys, and heart could be affected. When it comes to performing life saving techniques, you will need to do the following: Look for signs of airway obstruction, Treat airway obstruction as a medical emergency, Give oxygen at high concentration Breathing – Assessing, diagnosing, and treating breathing difficulties is crucial in life-threatening conditions. The process you should take consists of: Look, listen and feel for signs of respiratory irregularities or distress, Count the respiratory rate, Assess the depth of each breath and rhythm of breath, Check for any chest deformity, Listen to the patient’s breath, Percuss the chest, Auscultate the chest, Check the position of the trachea, Feel the chest wall to detect surgical emphysema, Provide oxygen to critically ill patients, Apply bag-mask or pocket mask ventilation if the patient’s depth or rate of breathing is absent Circulation – Unless there are signs of a cardiac issue, patients that have cool peripheries and a fast heart rate should be given intravenous fluid. Hypovolaemia should be regarded as the primary cause of shock in all medical emergencies unless otherwise proven. The steps that should be taken include:, Check the hands to see if they are blue, pink, pale or motted, Feel the patient’s hands to check their temperature, Measure the capillary refill time (CRT), Assess the state of the veins, Count pulse rate, Palpate peripheral and central pulses, Measure the patient’s blood pressure, Auscultate the heart, Look for signs of poor cardiac output, Look for external haemorrhage from wounds, Look for signs that are immediately life threatening, Insert one or more large intravenous cannulae, Take blook from the cannula, Give a bolus of 500 mL of warmed crystalloid solution over less than 15 min if the patient is hypotensive, Reassess the heart rate and blood pressure regularly, Repeat the fluid challenge if the patient does not improve, Decrease the fluid infusion rate if symptoms of cardiac failure emerge, Record a 12-lead ECG if the patient has primary chest pain and a suspected ACS, Disability – Instances of unconsciousness are commonly caused by hypoxia, cerebral hypoperfusion, hypercapnia, or the administration of analgesic drugs or sedatives. , Review and treat the ABCs, Check the patient’s drug chart, Examine the pupils, Use the AVPU method (Alert, Voice, Place, Unresponsive) to make an assessment of the patient’s conscious level, Use a rapid finger-prick bedside testing method to measure the blood glucose to exclude hypoglycaemia, Treat patients in the lateral position if they are unconscious and their airway is not protected Exposure – You may have to fully expose the body to examine the patient correctly. Make sure you minimise heat loss and respect the dignity of the patient.

To perform effective basic life support, you need to know the main elements, which consist of: Initial assessment, Airway maintenance and breathing, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)