Advanced life support

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Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue used for EMS in Palm Beach County, Florida
.

Advanced Life Support (ALS) is a set of life saving protocols and skills that extend basic life support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation (breathing).

Components

Dublin, Ireland

Key aspects of ALS level care include:

Algorithms

In cases of cardiac arrest, ALS builds on the foundations of basic life support (BLS) interventions such as bag-mask ventilation with high-flow oxygen, chest compressions, and use of an AED.

The core

endotracheal intubation may be attempted to secure the airway. At regular intervals, the effectiveness of the interventions on the heart rhythm, as well as the presence of cardiac output
, is assessed.

Medications that may be administered include

colloids
may be administered to increase the circulating volume.

While CPR is performed (which may involve either manual chest compressions or the use of automated equipment such as the

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).[1][2][3][4]
Note these reversible causes are usually taught and remembered as 4Hs and 4Ts[5]—including hypoglycaemia and acidosis with hyper/hypokalaemia and 'metabolic causes' and omitting trauma from the T's as this is redundant with hypovolaemia—this simplification aids recall during resuscitation.

Hs and Ts

Main article: Hs and Ts
'H's
'T's
  • Tension pneumothorax
    : increased pressure in the thoracic cavity, leading to decreased venous return to the heart
  • Tamponade: fluid or blood in the pericardium, compressing the heart
  • Toxic and/or therapeutic: chemicals, whether medication or poisoning
  • Thromboembolism and related mechanical obstruction (blockage of the blood vessels to the lungs or the heart by a blood clot or other material)

As of December 2005,

CPR
before rhythm is re-assessed (five cycles of CPR).

Other conditions

ALS also covers various conditions related to cardiac arrest, such as

Advanced Trauma Life Support
).

ALS providers

Many emergency

healthcare providers
are trained to administer some form of ALS.

In out-of-hospital settings, trained paramedics and some specifically trained emergency medical technicians typically provide this level of care. Canadian paramedics may be certified in either ALS (Advanced Care Paramedic-ACP) or in basic life support (Primary Care Paramedic-PCP). Some Primary Care Paramedics are also trained in intravenous cannulation, and are referred to as PCP-IV (see paramedics in Canada). Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are often skilled in ALS, although they may employ a slightly modified version of the medical algorithm. In the United States, Paramedic level services are referred to as advanced life Support (ALS). Services staffed by basic EMTs are referred to as basic life support (BLS). Services staffed by advanced emergency medical technicians can be called limited advanced life support (LALS), Intermediate Life Support (ILS), or simply advanced life support (ALS), depending on the State. In the Republic of Ireland, advanced life support (ALS) is provided by an advanced paramedic. Advanced Paramedic (AP) is the highest clinical level (level 6) in pre-hospital care in the Republic of Ireland based on the standards set down by PHECC, the Irish regulatory body for pre-hospital care and ambulance services. In the United Kingdom paramedics are registered healthcare professionals with the Health and Care Professions Council and are qualified to ALS level. This terminology extends beyond emergency cardiac care to describe all of the capabilities of the providers.

In hospitals, ALS is usually given by a team of doctors and nurses, with some clinical paramedics practicing in certain systems. Cardiac arrest teams, or "Code Teams" in the US, generally include doctors and senior nurses from various specialties such as

general or internal medicine
.

References

  1. ^ "Part 7.2: Management of Cardiac Arrest - 112 (24 Supplement): IV-58 - Circulation". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  2. ISBN 0-87493-341-2
    .
  3. ISBN 0-87493-424-9
    .
  4. ^ "2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care - Part 7.2: Management of Cardiac Arrest." Circulation 2005; 112: IV-58 – IV-66.
  5. ^ Resuscitation Council UK adult ALS algorithm 2005 Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

External links

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