Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS).

Part 6: Pediatric Basic Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support

Introduction The Pediatric Task Force reviewed all questions submitted by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) member councils in 2010, reviewed all council training materials and resuscitation guidelines and algorithms, and conferred on recent areas of interest and controversy. We identified a few areas where there were key differences in council-specific guidelines bas...

Basic life support.

The term basic life support (BLS) refers to maintaining an airway and supporting breathing and the circulation. It comprises the following elements: initial assessment, airway maintenance, expired air ventilation (rescue breathing; mouth-to-mouth ventilation) and chest compression. When all are combined the term cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is used. BLS implies that no equipment is used;...

Australian Resuscitation Council: adult advanced life support (ALS) guidelines 2006.

Is advanced life support better than basic life support in prehospital care? A systematic review

BACKGROUND Prehospital care is classified into ALS- (advanced life support) and BLS- (basic life support) levels according to the methods used. ALS-level prehospital care uses invasive methods, such as intravenous fluids, medications and intubation. However, the effectiveness of ALS care compared to BLS has been questionable. AIM The aim of this systematic review is to compare the effectivene...

Advanced life support versus basic life support in the pre-hospital setting: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND The scientific evidence of a beneficial effect of ALS in pre-hospital treatment in trauma patients or patients with any acute illness is scarce. The objective of this systematic review of controlled studies was to examine whether ALS, as opposed to BLS, increases patient survival in pre-hospital treatment and if so, to identify the patient groups that gain benefit. METHODS A system...