CPR: Rescue mouth-to-mouth breaths

Authors: Rednenko V.V., Poplavets E.V.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

•          protective medical gloves;
•          СPR simulator;
•          medical mask.

Clinical situation:

While at the train station, you heard a call for help. As you approached the scene, you found a group of people surrounding a woman (appearing to be about 60 years old) lying on the floor. First responder beside the casualty asks you to assist him and give rescue breaths to the person. You have medical mask. You should give rescue breaths by “mouth-to-mouth”.

Order of the skill performance:

•          Put on the medical mask or use a special face mask.

•          Take a kneeling position at the side of the person’s head.
•          Open the airway:

o   with your hand on the forehead and your fingertips under the point of the chin gently tilt the person’s head backwards, lifting the chin to open the airway;

o   hold the person's head in this position with your fingers under the chin.

•          Pinch the soft part if the nose, using the index finger and thumb of your hand on the forehead.

•          Allow the person’s mouth to open, but maintain chin lift.
•          Take a normal breath and place your lips around the person’s mouth, making sure that you have an airtight seal.

•          Blow steadily into the mouth whilst watching for the chest to rise, taking about 1 second as in normal breathing. This is an effective rescue breath.
•          Maintaining head tilt and chin lift, take your mouth away from the person and watch for the chest to fall as air comes out.
•          Take another normal breath to achieve a total of two rescue breaths.
•          Do not interrupt compressions by more than 10 seconds to deliver the two breaths even if one pr both are not effective.
•          Continue with chest compressions and rescue breaths in a ratio of 30:2.