Abstract

A child who encounters a life-threatening situation demands appropriate steps to be taken in the specific crisis as soon as possible. Observations in medical publications on cardiac arrest and resuscitation are in agreement on the age group that is most susceptible in pediatrics. This is the category of infants who are less than 12 months. However, all children who suffer a critical incident can succumb to mortality and severe neurological sequel without expedient medical life support.

Emergency life support interventions are administered by trained and competent personnel. They are literally fulfilling the safety-first rule: to establish a minimum reasonable return or return threshold. The aetiology, challenges and areas for improvement are dissimilar in both in-hospital and out-of-hospital pediatric collapse. The desired outcome is similar: safety and survival.