Anaesthesia | Paediatrics | Advanced Paediatric Life Support

Advanced Paediatric Life Support
Session overview
Description
This session addresses the advanced management of the critically ill child and the child in cardiac arrest.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Explain the procedure to follow when performing initial resuscitation management
• Demonstrate using the ABC approach for both assessment and management of a child with respiratory failure
• Describe the actions necessary to effectively manage a child with circulatory failure
• Define an arrhythmia and recognize the use and advantages of defibrillators in children
• Explain the response required when confronted with a cardiopulmonary arrest and the actions required to successfully manage the post arrest period in children

Prerequisites
Before commencing this session you should:

• Be aware of the common causes of paediatric arrest
• Be familiar with the ABC approach

Advanced life support utilizes equipment and drugs beyond that used in basic life support (BLS), and is usually performed in a hospital setting. It also includes the management of the critically ill child who is at risk of further deterioration.

Survival after paediatric arrest is poor, especially for out-of-hospital arrests (only 1-2% leave hospital). In-hospital arrests are better with up to 44% surviving to discharge although only 33% are neurologically intact. There is good evidence that adherence to paediatric cardiac arrest algorithms improves the outcome.