Ludhiana, December 9
A two-day paediatric advanced life support (PALS) course was conducted at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana here under the aegis of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics.
Dr Daljit Singh, course coordinator and Principal and Professor of Paediatrics, DMCH, said the other faculty members from Ludhiana were Dr Harmesh Singh, Reader in Paediatrics, DMCH, and Dr Sukhmeet Singh Sethi, North Zone Coordinator of the IAP-PALS group.
Dr Sunit Singhi, Professor of Paediatrics, PGI, Chandigarh, was the course director. The course faculty included Dr L.N. Taneja from Delhi and R. Mahesh Gupta from Jammu. Participation in the course was limited to 40 members as it was an interactive session with hands-on training activity. Paediatricians from Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Malout, Chandigarh, Rajpura, Dasuya, Sirsa, Kurukshetra and Meerut completed the course.
An introduction on the recognition of respiratory failure and shock by Dr Sunit Singhi was followed by a lecture on resuscitation pharmacology by Dr Sukhmeet Singh. Dr Daljit Singh discussed cardiac rhythm disturbances and their management, Dr Harmesh Singh demonstrated basic life support. Practical skills related to these aspects along with advanced airway management and vascular access were imparted to the participants through demonstration and practice. Teaching modules on toxicology, spine stabilisation and trauma resuscitation, neonatal resuscitation and rapid sequence incubation were included in the session.
Immediate and effective resuscitation followed by stabilisation and transport were vital components of advanced life support. Stepwise rapid comprehensive assessment of the child in an emergency situation was necessary to identify potential respiratory failure, compensated shock. Prompt intervention in the form of oxygen, assisted ventilation, intravenous access and fluid bolus administration should precede medications. This was the fourth PALS course conducted by IAP at Ludhiana, said Dr Daljit Singh.
