Q What changes have been made to the curriculum of pediatric advanced life support (PALS)?

A Karen Zahn, RN, CCRN, and Joseph Dunn, RN, CCRN, reply:

The American Heart Association’s Subcommittee on Pediatric Resuscitation has made major changes to the PALS course. These changes are the result of an exhaustive effort of more than 500 experts who reviewed more than 25000 articles. This review of the literature provided the scientific basis for the changes to PALS, and the 2002 PALS Provider Manual includes these recommendations.1 We will briefly cover some major changes to the curriculum but encourage readers to attend a PALS course or review the 2002 PALS Provider Manual for an in-depth understanding of the changes in the curriculum and the rationale for these changes.

The new guidelines reaffirm that adequate oxygenation and ventilation can be successfully obtained in infants and children using the bag and mask. Tracheal...

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