ABC or CAB? - what do you think?

lol basically if just giving a rescue. you should do CAB first.

then ABC= symptoms of the disease/origins and the like.

not all the time the patient is dying :))))))

With NCLEX it's always ABCs

Thank you! Although I didn´t really get "symptoms of the disease/origins and the like"... with ABC??

With NCLEX it's always ABCs

I agree. and remember also that..NCLEX RN is only changed every 3 yrs..so last changed April 2010...i may be wrong on the month :), so anything that is new..will not be on your Nclex.

We were told in class that the "CAB method" has to be published in 3 nursing texts or something like that and it hasnt yet, so that it will be ABC's on the NCLEX.

I was under the impression that the CAB method was to be used by laypersons because of the whole "ewww..mouth2mouth on a stranger gross" factor, that many ppl were worried about

I think in a hospital setting or as a healthcare provider we would still check ABC's... at least I would. , lets be serious, doing compressions on someone isnt gonna do them a crap worth of good if they have and airway obstruction that could easily remedy their issue haha.

thanks diana2520 - helpful as usual!

Thank you Pneumothorax - yeah well I think so too - it just depends on the situation!

CAB is related to CPR only. All it means is you give compressions before opening the airway and giving rescue breaths.

Compression only CPR is not for hospital BLS- it's simply meant to try to increase the liklihood that a bystander will intervene in an emergency.

For all your NCLEX questions and nursing tests, follow the ABC's. It's highly unlikely you'll get a question about the steps of CPR on your NCLEX.

We were told in class that the "CAB method" has to be published in 3 nursing texts or something like that and it hasnt yet, so that it will be ABC's on the NCLEX.

The CAB sequence of intervention has been heavily researched by the AHA and many other organizations. It has been shown to increase positive outcomes in cardiac arrest. It won't be "published in 3 nursing texts" because BLS and CPR aren't simply nursing responsibilities. Do you remember reading anything in your nursing text about performing CPR at all?

Again, CAB only applies to performing CPR in a cardio-respiratory arrest. No other assessment situations.

I was under the impression that the CAB method was to be used by laypersons because of the whole "ewww..mouth2mouth on a stranger gross" factor, that many ppl were worried about

You're thinking about compression only CPR, which is recommended to laypersons who aren't comfortable providing rescue breaths. CAB is still the recommended and taught sequence of performing CPR in a cardio-respiratory arrest regardless of the location.

I think in a hospital setting or as a healthcare provider we would still check ABC's... at least I would. , lets be serious, doing compressions on someone isnt gonna do them a crap worth of good if they have and airway obstruction that could easily remedy their issue haha.

Yes, you would check all of those things, but your rationale is way off. If you are performing CPR then the person is PULSELESS. For all intents and purposes, they are dead. In that circumstance, when there is no blood flowing to their brain, what they need the most is NOT for someone to go looking in their airway for an obstruction. They need blood flow restored to their brain to prevent permanent damage IMMEDIATELY. When you and I breathe, we take in about 21% oxygen. We use about 5% of that oxygen and exhale about 16% oxygen. So a person in cardiac arrest still has usable oxygen in their blood- it's just not being circulated. That's why CAB is more effective. First you need to reestablish blood flow. Then you can worry about the airway and giving more oxygen.

Furthermore, if a patient's problem was just an airway obstruction, and clearing the obstruction would fix the problem, then they need the obstruction cleared (the heimlich maneuver), not CPR. If the airway obstruction has led to cardiac arrest, then you start standard CPR, beginning with compressions.

These are basic BLS principles according to the updated guidelines. When you take BLS, you will learn these steps.