PALS Essentials

• Prevention does not require advanced skills, and early intervention can positively impact an emergency situation.
• Keep in mind that the child and infant’s family and their response is influenced by a variety of factors and coping skills.
• Mentally prepare for treating the child or the infant as you approach the scene.
• Assess the appearance, work of breathing, and skin color as you approach any child or infant.
• A child or infant’s general appearance provides an important clue to the severity of illness, alert and interactive children or infants are rarely seriously ill.
• Head bobbing is a sign of respiratory distress in infants.
• A normal pulse oximetry reading does not exclude respiratory distress.
• Infants and young children may become agitated when attempting to apply supplemental oxygen.
• Slowing of normal respiratory rate after a period of respiratory distress can herald respiratory arrest.
• Bradycardia in children is most often due to hypoxia.
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death for infants of one month to one year of age.
• The unexpected death of a child or infant is extremely stressful for the rescuer/provider.
• If a foreign body is suspected, look inside the mouth and airway before suctioning.
• Nasopharyngeal airways are useful for persons having a seizure.
• Do not blindly sweep the airway to avoid pushing a foreign body in further.
• Pull the jaw up into the mask; do not push the mask onto the face when using bag-valve-mask.
• Deliver breaths slowly over one second to avoid gastric distention.