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new AHA guidelines recommend changes to standard of care for pediatric severe airway foreign body obstructions
Additional Information
Key changes:
-A recent observational study of adult and pediatric FBAO suggests improved clearance of a foreign body with the use of back blows over abdominal thrusts
-To create consistency for instructional purposes, and in the absence of inferiority from pediatric data, management of severe FBAO in children now starts with a series of back blows instead of abdominal thrusts. Repeated cycles of 5 back blows followed by 5 abdominal thrusts are performed until the obstruction is cleared or the child becomes unresponsive.
-Abdominal thrusts are not recommended for infants, given the potential to cause abdominal organ injury
-The risk of blind finger sweeps outweighs any potential benefit in the management of FBAO
References
Dunne CL, Cirone J, Blanchard IE, Holroyd-Leduc J, Wilson TA, Sauro K, McRae AD. Evaluation of basic life support interventions for foreign body airway obstructions: A population-based cohort study. Resuscitation. 2024 Aug;201:110258. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2024.110258. Epub 2024 May 31. PMID: 38825222.