In a controversial move, the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine has recommended that mouth-to-mouth ventilation be abolished from national cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines and replaced with chest compressions only, saying the move would save more people.
The recommendation comes after two prestigious overseas studies found patients were more likely to survive without brain damage if CPR was administered without mouth-to-mouth.
Dr Stephen Bernard, of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, said the latest research showed compression-only resuscitation was the best way to improve survival. "The evidence is becoming quite convincing, and it makes one think: should it be the standard?"
1 comment:
I know this is a 2008 article - but I would not be here if I was not given mouth-to-mouth, and I do not think it should be abolished. Even if not overall as effective as CPR in saving as many lives altogether, it is still immensely important to know. I should know - it saved my own life!
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