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Coma/recovery position

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

recovery position

Several variations of the recovery position have been described each with its own advantages. The position should be stable, near a true lateral position with the head dependent, and with no pressure on the chest to impair breathing.

The RC (UK) recommends the following sequence of actions to place a victim in the recovery position:

  • For adults and children with a decreased level of responsiveness due to medical illness or non-physical trauma, who do not meet the criteria for the initiation of rescue breathing or chest compressions (CPR), RCUK recommends they be placed into a lateral, side-lying recovery position. Overall, there is little evidence to suggest an optimal recovery position, but RCUK recommends the following sequence of actions:

    • Kneel beside the person and make sure that both legs are straight.

    • Place the arm nearest to you out at right angles to the body with the hand palm uppermost.

    • Bring the far arm across the chest, and hold the back of the hand against the person’s cheek nearest to you.

    • With your other hand, grasp the far leg just above the knee and pull it up, keeping the foot on the ground.

    • Keeping the hand pressed against the cheek, pull on the far leg to roll the person towards you onto their side.

    • Adjust the upper leg so that both the hip and knee are bent at right angles.

    • Tilt the head back to make sure the airway remains open.

    • Adjust the hand under the cheek if necessary, to keep the head tilted and facing downwards to allow liquid material to drain from the mouth.

    • Check regularly for normal breathing.

    • Only leave the person unattended if absolutely necessary, for example to attend to other people.

  • It is important to stress the importance of maintaining a close check on all unresponsive individuals until the EMS (emergency services) arrives to ensure that their breathing remains normal. In certain situations, such as resuscitation-related agonal respirations or trauma, it may not be appropriate to move the individual into a recovery position.

Reference:


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