BLS: Airway Management
Until an advanced airway is inserted, the rescue team should use mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mask, or bag-mask ventilation. An advanced airway (supraglottic airway, laryngeal mask airway, or endotracheal tube) provides a more stable way of providing breaths and should, therefore, be inserted as early as possible in a resuscitation effort. Once an advanced airway is in place, the compression to breath ratio should be adjusted as noted below (Table 1).
The compression rate for all persons is always 100-120 per minute.
| COMPRESSION TO BREATH RATIO | NO ADVANCED AIRWAY | ADVANCED AIRWAY |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | 30 compressions followed by two breaths | One breath every 6 seconds without pauses in compressions |
| Child/Infant | 30 compressions followed by two breaths for one rescuer 15 compressions followed by two breaths for two rescuer | One breath every 6 seconds without pauses in compressions One breath every 2-3 seconds (20-30 breaths per minute) |
