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CPR; during cardiopulmonary resuscitation why would nurse have to locate xyphoid process?


(nurse must plae one finger on xyphoid process and other hand just above the lower half of sternum)
what complication would arise if the nurse places hand on xyphoid process

for the purposes of this question the nurse has to put a finger on the xyphoid.........

While the xyphoid process is easily detached if to much pressure is applied to it, I do question why the nurse or anyone would be looking for it when preforming CPR. The xyphoid process is on the very lower end of the sternum and as per the 2005 American Heart Association guidelines when a person performs CPR you are to place your hand on the middle of the chest over the sternum. Gone are the days when we located the xyphoid and measured two fingers width and then placed our hands upon the chest. Placing your hands mid-chest is quicker and more accurate.

If you were to apply pressure around the xiphoid process during CPR you would likely cause a fracture.

What is the nurse doing during this CPR? I assume doctors are present. When you can't get the patient to breath, sometimes as a last resort, the DOCTOR will insert a tube through the xyphoid process to get air into the lungs. And I'm talking last resort here. It had better be a good anesthesiologist during it.

you would not want to break it off.

if the xyphoid process is pressed, it could easily be broken off which could cause internal damage to organs.

The xyphoid is a piece of cartilage that can be rather easily bent backwards and 'spear' the liver under it, causing internal bleeding and complications.

Locating the xyphoid this way is no longer taught in American Heart, American Red Cross, or other programs. We now use 'the center of the chest', or 'mid-line on the chest, between the nipples'.

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