The American Heart Association® (AHA®) developed advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) and pediatric advanced life support (PALS), both of which are life-saving techniques. In an emergency, both ACLS and PALS serve as central patient management tools. While both ACLS and PALS are clinical interventions used to resuscitate or artificially sustain life in patients, paramedics and health care providers use them with different patient populations and in different life-threatening situations. The “ABC” principle is used to prioritize needs in emergency clinical interventions: airway, breathing, and circulation.
The main distinction between ACLS and PALS is the treatment recipient: ACLS is for adults, while PALS is for children. Advanced cardiovascular life support is an essential clinical intervention for any emergency medical team or health care facility to have in place for urgent care or emergency care. The treatment of cardiac arrest or other cardiopulmonary emergencies in adults is one of the primary functions of ACLS. When adults exhibit symptoms of impending cardiopulmonary events, the AHA® emphasizes the importance of starting ACLS interventions in “periarrest,” or the early stages leading up to full cardiac arrest. Ventilations, tracheal intubations, defibrillations, and intravenous (IV) infusions are some of the most common ACLS techniques.
Pediatric advanced life support systems should be established for emergency medical personnel and health care facilities dedicated to pediatric care for infants and children. PALS-trained medical professionals can perform a variety of life-saving procedures on sick or injured children. ACLS techniques may include using a bag-valve mask to ventilate a child who is unable to breathe or inserting an endotracheal tube into the child’s trachea or windpipe if the child is unconscious. Defibrillation with cardioversion — a brief electric shock — or insertion of a needle directly into the child’s bone marrow for immediate access to begin infusing intravenous fluids may be required during a cardiac event or other life-threatening situation.
Whether paramedics and health care providers are treating children, adults, or both, some form of life support system should be functional and readily available to deal with urgent and emergency situations. These requirements are met by ACLS and PALS, which provide interventions tailored to each patient population. While advanced cardiovascular life support is primarily for adults in cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary emergencies, pediatric advanced life support ensures that even the tiniest patients receive the expert emergency care they require in life-threatening situations. The primary goal of both ACLS and PALS is to save the lives of those who require immediate or emergency medical attention.