The 2020 ACLS guidelines have been in effect since October 2015 when the American Heart Association released the most recent guidelines changes for BLS, ACLS, and PALS. Furthermore, these guidelines will be good through 2020 when the AHA meets again to update the guidelines.
There were some minor changes to both the BLS and ACLS Guidelines. The guideline changes that occurred with the release of the 2015 ACLS & BLS Guidelines can be reviewed using the links below.
The articles will provide a complete review of the guideline changes released by the American Heart Association in their Executive Summary: 2015 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care.
Please feel free to ask a question in the comments section below if something is not clear.
This 6 minute video covers all the 2015 guideline changes listed below.
2020 ACLS Guideline Changes Review
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BLS and CPR Quality Changes
There are several guideline changes that will affect the provider’s interventions with CPR.
The link provided above will provide you with a review of these changes which include changes in chest compression depth, rate, and quality.
There are some minor changes directed toward health care providers and their use of BLS. Also, there are some new recommendations for ventilation of the patient with an advanced airway in place.
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Cardiac Arrest Medication Changes
This page reviews changes made to the cardiac arrest algorithm that involve emergency medications including vasopressin and epinephrine.
Most noteworthy is the removal of vasopressin from the Cardiac Arrest Algorithm. -
Post-Cardiac Arrest Management Changes
There were some changes related to multiple aspects of the post-cardiac arrest phase. These changes include minor revisions in the administration of therapeutic hypothermia, hemodynamic goals, and post-arrest medication use. Post-Cardiac Arrest Management Changes.
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Other 2015-2020 Guideline Changes
Several other important changes were made to the AHA BLS and ACLS Guidelines. These changes include a revision to the chain of survival and end-tidal CO2 as a resuscitation success predictor.
All of the new 2018 ACLS guidelines have been incorporated into the Practice Tests, Megacode Scenarios, and ACLS Review Videos found on the pages of this website.
Guideline Changes Video
Guideline Changes Test
Do you know the difference between the 2019 and the 2020 AHA ACLS Guidelines?