Basic Life Support (BLS) Practice Exam

When performing CPR on a 6-month old infant, which technique should be used for chest compressions?

1. Two-finger technique

2. Heel of the hand technique

3. Encircling thumbs technique

4. One-handed technique

The correct answer is: Encircling thumbs technique

The encircling thumbs technique is the recommended method for performing chest compressions on an infant, particularly for a child under one year old, like a 6-month-old. This technique involves using both hands, with the thumbs placed on the center of the infant's chest and the fingers supporting the back of the infant. This positioning provides more stability and helps to control the depth and rate of compressions effectively. Using the encircling thumbs technique allows for better ventilation when combined with rescue breaths, as it facilitates creating a seal around the infant's mouth and nose during rescue breaths. It also minimizes the risk of the compressions being too forceful, which is critical since infants have fragile ribcages. In contrast, other methods such as the two-finger technique, while appropriate in certain situations, may not provide the same level of effectiveness and control as the encircling thumbs technique when more than one person is available to help with the infant. The heel of the hand technique and one-handed technique are not suitable for infants as they are intended for use on older children and adults.