ABSTRACT
This study carried out in order to assess the knowledge about Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation. Nurses can be lifesaving rescuer for a cardiac arrest victim. CPR skills and their applications depend on the nurse’s training, experience and confidence. Highly trained nurses working together should coordinate their care and perform chest compressions as well as ventilations in a team-based approach. All rescuers regardless of training should provide chest compressions to all cardiac arrest victims. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) consists of the use of chest compressions and artificial ventilation to maintain circulatory flow and oxygenation during cardiac arrest. Although survival rates and neurologic outcomes are poor for patients with cardiac arrest, early appropriate resuscitation involving early defibrillation—and appropriate implementation of post–cardiac arrest care lead to improved survival and neurologic outcomes. In this study, we sought to assess the knowledge of nonmedical people regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the Study
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure that combines chest compressions often with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest. It is recommended in those who are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing, for example, agonal respirations (Abella, 2005).
CPR involves chest compressions for adults between 5 cm (2.0 in) and 6 cm (2.4 in) deep and at a rate of at least 100 to 120 per minute. The rescuer may also provide artificial ventilation by either exhaling air into the subject’s mouth or nose (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) or using a device that pushes air into the subject’s lungs (mechanical ventilation). Current recommendations place emphasis on early and high-quality chest compressions over artificial ventilation; a simplified CPR method involving chest compressions, is only recommended for untrained rescuers. In children, however, only doing compressions may result in worse outcomes, because in children the problem normally arises from a respiratory, rather than cardiac problem. Chest compression to breathing ratios is set at 30 to 2 in adults.
According to (Atkins DL et al, 2015) CPR alone is unlikely to restart the heart. Its main purpose is to restore partial flow of oxygenated blood to the brain and heart. The objective is to delay tissue death and to extend the brief window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage. Administration of an electric shock to the subject’s heart, termed defibrillation, is usually needed in order to restore a viable or “perfusing” heart rhythm. Defibrillation is effective only for certain heart rhythms, namely ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, rather than asystole or pulseless electrical activity. Early shock when appropriate is recommended. CPR may succeed in inducing a heart rhythm that may be shockable. In general, CPR is continued until the person has a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or is declared dead.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the foundational technique for the emergency treatment of cardiac arrest (CA). The standardized training of CPR has been emphasized more than ever. Common people in developed countries and regions have received popular education of CPR program of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) training which was launched jointly by Universal Medical Assistance International Center, Ministry of Health, P. R. China and American Heart Association in 2004. Nurses of health services who have received professional education and training should be able to practice CPR accurately and offer advanced cardiac life support to the patient who suffered an attack of cardiac arrest. This is considered as the basic requirement and qualification of licensed nurses. In the wider community it is an expectation that competence in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) is at a high standard in all hospital medical and nursing staff (Buck-Barrett and Squire 2004; Perkins et al 1999). While CPR/ACLS competency is considered a fundamental skill for health care workers, the evidence suggests that retention of CPR/ACLS knowledge and skills is generally poor (Brown et al 2006; Buck-Barret and Squire 2004).
1.2. Statement of the Problem
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a critical component of basic life support (BLS) as the first-line response to cardiac arrest before defibrillation and advanced life support become available. Whilst CPR has become well established in the healthcare systems of developed countries, it remains a developing procedure in some African countries.The incidence of cardiovascular disease is likely to rise as the life expectancy for people living with HIV and/or AIDS increases due to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This is the case because antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) increase the risk of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease including cardiac arrests. Therefore, the aim of this study is to give an overview of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation as well as their vital roles.
