First aid

Part 17: First Aid : 2010 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid David Markenson, Jeffrey D. Ferguson, Leon Chameides, Pascal Cassan, Kin-Lai Chung, Jonathan Epstein, Louis Gonzales, Rita Ann Herrington, Jeffrey L. Pellegrino, Norda Ratcliff and Adam Singer Circulation 2010, 122:S934-S946 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.971150
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Part 17: First Aid
2010 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid
David Markenson, Co-Chair*; Jeffrey D.Ferguson, Co-Chair*; Leon Chameides; Pascal Cassan; Kin-Lai Chung; Jonathan Epstein; Louis Gonzales; Rita Ann Herrington; Jeffrey L. Pellegrino; Norda Ratcliff; Adam Singer
he American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Red Cross (Red Cross) cofounded the National First Aid Science Advisory Board to review and evaluate the scientific literature on first aid in preparation for the 2005 AmericanHeart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid.1 In preparation for the 2010 evidence evaluation process, the National First Aid Advisory Board was expanded to become the International First Aid Science Advisory Board with the addition of representatives from a number of international first aid organizations (see Table). The goal of the board is to reduce morbidity andmortality due to emergency events by making treatment recommendations based on an analysis of the scientific evidence that answers the following questions:
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T

Modern, organized first aid evolved from military experiences when surgeons taught soldiers how to splint and bandage battlefield wounds. Two British officers, Peter Shepherd and Francis Duncan, are said to have been the first toexpand the concept to civilians and to develop the first curriculum in first aid.4 Organized training in civilian first aid began in the United States in 1903 when Clara Barton, president of the Red Cross, formed a committee to establish instruction in first aid among the nation’s industrial workers, where, under dangerous conditions, accidents and deaths were all too frequent.

The EvidenceEvaluation Process
The International First Aid Science Advisory Board first identified 38 questions in first aid practice that either were not raised in previous evidence evaluations or were in need of updating. Two or more board members volunteered to review the scientific literature independently and develop an evidence-based review worksheet summarizing the literature relevant to each question (seePart 2: “Evidence Evaluation and Management of Potential or Perceived Conflicts of Interest”). After each worksheet was presented to, and reviewed by, the full board, a summary draft of the scientific evidence and a treatment recommendation were crafted. The evidence-based review for each question was presented and discussed a second time at a subsequent board meeting. All first aid worksheets,...