How long should you perform cardiac massage and artificial respiration to a person injured in an accident?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
B. Until the person regains their breath or is handed over to a paramedic.
Explanation
In the photo a rescuer in a high-visibility vest is doing chest compressions on a woman lying on her back next to a car. You continue CPR until the casualty starts breathing again or you hand them over to a paramedic - the answer is B.
The Road Traffic Act requires a driver involved in an accident in which someone is injured to give the necessary help to the victims and to call the emergency medical team, and the Criminal Code punishes failing to help. CPR has no fixed time set in advance - neither 60 minutes (answer A) nor 5 minutes (answer C) comes from any guidelines. Compressions and breaths in a 30:2 rhythm replace the work of the heart and lungs, so stopping them means that the brain again stops getting oxygen. You stop when the casualty starts breathing normally, when the rescuers take over, or when you become exhausted yourself. If there is a second witness, swap roles about every 2 minutes, so that the compressions stay effective all the time.
Legal basis: Art. 44 para. 2 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); Art. 162 § 1 of the Criminal Code