2020 Brought Many Changes, Including New Life Saving Information

2020 was a rough year for many, but one positive would have to be the 2020 Guideline changes were released by ILCOR. Every five years, we are updated with any changes within the life-saving field of CPR and Emergency Cardiac Care. To also assist in helping others, we create a 5 min video on how to perform CPR on an adult and infants/children. We hope that this information will be helpful to you with the hopes of preparing you, and others, to help know how to save a life, if needed. 

Pediatric & Adult CPR Changes

Several changes were made to the pediatric and adult CPR. For children and infants, this included now giving one set of CPR with 15 compressions with two breaths and one breath every 2 to 3 seconds. For adults, chest compressions should be performed at a depth of 2” to 2.4” (5 to 6 cm) with a compression rate of 100 to 120 per minute.

The Updated Chain of Survival

Before 2020, the Chain of Survival only had five links, but with the new updates, Recovery was introduced for the adult and pediatric Chain of Survival. You can see both diagrams below:

bls-chainofsurvival-adult-1

Adult Chain of Survival

bls-chainofsurvival-pediatric

Pediatric Chain of Survival

Know The First Aid Changes

While there were several updates, a few to note would be if a tooth is knocked out, do not touch the roots of the tooth, gently wash with water, and try to transport in saline or cow’s milk. If the patient is willing to put it under their tongue, that is also a viable solution for transportation.

When life-threatening bleeding occurs, use direct pressure; however, a tourniquet can be used to stop the bleeding if the pressure doesn’t work. If a tourniquet is needed, make sure to place it 2” above the wound, keep it tight and call 911/EMS.

Changes to treating hypothermia and heat stroke should also be noted. Place the victim in cold water. Keep them there until their temperature reaches no higher than 102.2 F/38.89 C or until their symptoms are resolved. Cold showers and fanning can also help in returning their temperature to normal.

To review these changes and several more, watch our video on the 2020 ILCOR Guidelines.

Stay Informed & Save Lives

Stay up to date on life-saving changes, or to learn how to perform CPR, you can watch this 5 min video on CPR. Our 5-minute CPR training video walks you through the life-saving in CPR, AED, and First Aid for Adults, Children, and Infants.

We hope sharing this information with you will help you be prepared when and if you ever need to help save a life. You can find more information on learning CPR here.

Check out our other life-saving courses on our website, SaveaLife.com.

Thank you for wanting to help others.