DRABCD - Simple Application For CPR

Simple Application For CPR

The basic application of the ABC principle is in first aid, and is used in cases of unconscious patients to start treatment and assess the need for, and then potentially deliver, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

In this simple usage, the rescuer is required to open the airway (using a technique such as "head tilt - chin lift"), then check for normal breathing. These two steps should provide the initial assessment of whether the patient will require CPR or not.

In the event that the patient is not breathing normally, the current international guidelines (set by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation or ILCOR) indicate that chest compressions should be started.

Previously, the guidelines indicated that a pulse check should be performed after the breathing was assessed, and this made up the 'circulation' part of the initialism, but this pulse check is no longer recommended for lay rescuers. Some trainers continue to use 'circulation' as the label for the third step in the process, since performing chest compressions is effectively artificial circulation, and when assessing patients who are breathing, assessing 'circulation' is still important. However, some trainers now use the C to mean 'Compressions' in their basic first aid training.