• Matthew J Pavitt, Laura L Swanton, Matthew Hind, Michael Apps, Michael I Polkey, Malcolm Green, and Nicholas S Hopkinson.
• NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College, London, UK.
• Thorax. 2017 Jun 1; 72 (6): 576-578.

AbstractThe Heimlich manoeuvre is a well-known intervention for the management of choking due to foreign body airway occlusion, but the evidence base for guidance on this topic is limited and guidelines differ. We measured pressures during abdominal thrusts in healthy volunteers. The angle at which thrusts were performed (upthrust vs circumferential) did not affect intrathoracic pressure. Self-administered abdominal thrusts produced similar pressures to those performed by another person. Chair thrusts, where the subject pushed their upper abdomen against a chair back, produced higher pressures than other manoeuvres. Both approaches should be included in basic life support teaching.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

15 keywords...

hide…