PADI RTO First Aid Student Manual

HLTAID007 - PROVIDE ADVANCED RESUSCITATION Considerations when providing supplementary oxygen In this section we will look at the benefits of providing suction during the application of advanced resuscitation techniques and of providing oxygen to a casualty. You’ll also be introduced to the selection and operation of oxygen masks and other appropriate devices as well as potential complications with the use of a bag-valve-mask device and suitable strategies to minimise these. What are the benefits of providing suction to a casualty? Use of a suction device in emergency situations helps to maintain oral hygiene and comfort for the casualty and the Emergency Responder as it removes copious secretions (e.g. vomit or blood) from the casualty’s mouth. What are the benefits of providing oxygen to a casualty? Many injuries, diseases and intoxications interfere with normal oxygenation of the blood or tissues and a lack of or reduction in oxygen in the bloodstream can become life-threatening. Providing oxygen helps to slow breathing rates, calms the casualty down and allows the body to beginning the recovery process more effectively. The short-term administration of supplemental emergency oxygen to a breathing casualty will not cause harm in most circumstances. In a non-breathing casualty, oxygen may be used if available and only if the appropriate equipment and trained personnel are available. What are different types of oxygen masks? Simple mask A simple mask (also known as Hudson mask) covers the nose and mouth and is held in place by a strap. Oxygen flows into the mask and is inhaled with each breath the casualty takes. Openings in the mask allow air to enter as well because oxygen flow alone does not provide enough volume for each breath. It delivers an oxygen concentration of up to 60% and can be connected to either a constant flow regulator (set to 15 litres per minute (LPM) for adults, or 4-6 LPM for children) or to a demand resuscitator or inhalator valve. Simple masks can be used on breathing and non-breathing casualties. Non-rebreather mask Non-rebreather masks are similar to simple masks but make much better use of oxygen. As their name implies, the casualty does not ‘rebreathe’ his exhaled breath – instead, it is dumped out of the mask through three non-return valves. Non-rebreather masks feature an attached reservoir bag that contains 100 percent oxygen and are the preferred masks used for providing oxygen to responsive and unresponsive breathing casualties. The flow rate should be set to 15 LPM. Resuscitation / Pocket mask Resuscitation or pocket masks are used to deliver higher concentrations of oxygen to non-breathing casualties when the mask has a supplemental oxygen inlet so it can also be used for oxygen resuscitation. As with the previous masks, the flow rate should be set to 15 LPM. With the addition of oxygen, these masks can deliver a concentration of over 40 percent (as opposed to the 17 percent with mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing only).

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PADI RTO