Updated CPR guidelines released for pediatric and neonatal emergency care and resuscitation

Pediatric guidelines part of global CPR guideline update

2025-10-23

(Press-News.org) DALLAS and ITASCA, IL, Oct. 23, 2025 — The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association (the Association), a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, have published updated guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care for newborn and pediatric populations.

The “2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care” mark a comprehensive update to the guidelines for pediatric basic and advanced life support and neonatal resuscitation since 2020. Experts from each organization co-led the three chapters — Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Pediatric Basic Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation, with writing groups evenly balanced between members of the American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidelines were jointly published online Oct. 22 in Circulation and Pediatrics as part of a comprehensive update of CPR and ECC recommendations for lifesaving resuscitation.

Every year, more than 7,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and approximately 20,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests occur in infants and children in the United States.

“Children are not little adults, and these guidelines offer specific recommendations that reflect the unique needs of children," said Javier Lasa, M.D., FAHA, FAAP, associate professor in critical care and cardiology at Children’s Health in Dallas and volunteer co-chair of the 2025 Pediatric Advanced Life Support Writing Group.

The Pediatric Basic and Advanced Life Support guidelines are intended to be a resource for lay responders and health care professionals who provide care for infants and children in multiple settings: the community, prehospital and facility-based environment. Highlights from the new pediatric guidelines include:

A single chain of survival is intended to apply to adult and pediatric in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In creating this singular chain, it is acknowledged that prior to cardiac arrest, prevention and preparedness can both avoid and optimize resuscitation. There is continued emphasis on early recognition of cardiac arrest in infants and children, and early activation of emergency medical services and the initiation of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation beginning with chest compressions. For infants with severe foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), or choking, repeated cycles of 5 back blows alternating with 5 chest thrusts are recommended. Abdominal thrusts are not recommended in infants. In children with severe FBAO, repeated cycles of 5 back blows alternating with 5 abdominal thrusts are recommended. Earlier guidance for children called for performing abdominal thrusts only. For infants, the recommended compression techniques include using either the one-hand technique or the two thumbs–encircling hands technique. If the rescuer cannot physically encircle the chest, it is recommended to compress the chest with the heel of one-hand. The use of two fingers along the sternum was eliminated due to ineffectiveness in achieving proper depth. Henry Lee, M.D., FAAP, professor of pediatrics and neonatologist from the University of California San Diego and American Heart Association volunteer co-chair of the 2025 Neonatal Writing Group stressed the need for properly trained neonatal clinical care: "The guidelines also observe that one out of every 10-20 newborns each year needs help transitioning from the fluid-filled environment of the womb to the air-filled room. It is essential that every newborn infant has a health care professional dedicated to facilitating that transition who is trained and equipped for the role using these recommendations.”

While an updated unified chain of survival has been developed for adults and children, a separate new newborn chain of care was created that provides a framework for considering essential elements of the health care system relating to neonatal health.

Highlights from the neonatal guidelines include:

The newborn chain of care starts with prenatal care and extends to recovery and appropriate follow-up in the postnatal period to ensure optimal short- and long-term health for the infant and family. Newborn resuscitation requires anticipation and preparation by health care professionals who train individually and as a team. Most newborn infants can be evaluated and monitored during deferred cord clamping for 60 seconds or more and can maintain skin-to-skin contact with a parent after birth. Previously, the recommended duration was at least 30 seconds. Effective ventilation of the lungs remains the priority in newborn infants who need resuscitation. Some recommendations, such as chest compression positioning, timing of pulse oximeter placement and ventilation corrective steps, are practices that may already be commonly performed but have been updated and strengthened with review of the latest evidence. It is reasonable to provide ventilation at a rate of 30–60 inflations per minute in newborn infants, which is expanded from the prior recommendation of 40-60 inflations per minute. Volunteer writing group chairs representing both organizations participated in global launch events taking place simultaneously in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the site of the 2025 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation meeting. The updated guidelines and CPR training materials are available in U.S. and international English—with many additional translated languages planned —so first responders, clinicians and other learners can begin using the most current, science-backed resources immediately. These educational materials can be accessed at the following links: Pediatric Advanced Life Support (https://cpr.heart.org/pals) and the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, 9th Edition (https://aap.org/nrp).

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association recognize the work of the co-chairs of the groups:

Neonatal— Henry Lee, M.D., FAAP, (American Heart Association) and Edgardo Szyld, M.D., MS (American Academy of Pediatrics); Pediatric Basic Life Support—Tia Raymond, M.D., FAAP, (American Heart Association), Benny Joyner, M.D., MPH, FAAP (American Academy of Pediatrics); Pediatric Advanced Life Support—Alexis Topjian, M.D., MSCE, FAHA (American Heart Association), Javier Lasa, M.D., FAHA, FAAP (American Academy of Pediatrics).

Full list of writing group members and authors’ disclosures can be found in the manuscript.

Additional Resources:

Part 5: Neonatal Resuscitation: 2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Part 6: Pediatric Basic Life Support: 2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Part 8: Pediatric Advanced Life Support: 2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care ###

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About the American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Psilocybin plus mindfulness shows promise for healthcare worker depression

2025-10-23

Frontline healthcare workers struggling with depression after the COVID-19 pandemic experienced significant relief from a treatment combining psilocybin group therapy with mindfulness training, according to a new study from Huntsman Mental Health Institute at University of Utah Health. Doctors and nurses who received this controlled, group psilocybin therapy along with an eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program saw far greater improvements than those who only learned mindfulness techniques. "Depression and burnout have long been serious problems for healthcare workers. When the pandemic only worsened these effects, ...

New study documents functional extinction of two critically endangered coral species following record heatwave in Florida

2025-10-23

A new research paper published in Science reports the functional extinction of Acropora corals from Florida’s Coral Reef. Scientists documented catastrophic mortality of these critically endangered corals following a record-setting marine heatwave in 2023 that marked the ninth mass bleaching event for the region. Both Acropora coral species — staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn (Acropora palmata) — are important reef-builders in Florida and the Caribbean and have been a major focus of recent coral restoration efforts. Led by the National Oceanic ...

UC Irvine researchers find new Alzheimer’s mechanism linked to brain inflammation

2025-10-23

Irvine, Calif., Oct. 23, 2025 — Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have uncovered an unexpected molecular partnership that reshapes scientists’ understanding of how brain inflammation arises in Alzheimer’s disease. In a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of scientists led by assistant researcher Ruiming Zhao and Dr. Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs at UC Irvine, discovered that amyloid precursor proteins – best known as the source of amyloid-beta ...

Ancient stone tools trace Paleolithic Pacific migration

2025-10-23

CORVALLIS, Ore – A new analysis of stone tools offers strong evidence for the theory that ancient people from the Pacific Rim traveled a coastal route from East Asia during the last ice age to become North America’s First Peoples, according to a paper published this week in the journal Science Advances. “This study puts the First Americans back into the global story of the Paleolithic – not as outliers – but as participants in a shared technological legacy,” said Loren Davis, professor of anthropology at Oregon ...

New ‘molecular dam’ stops energy leaks in nanocrystals

2025-10-23

A collaborative team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California Irvine, and Fort Lewis College, led by RASEI Fellow Gordana Dukovic, has found a way to slow energy leaks that have impeded the use of tiny nanocrystals in light-driven chemical and energy applications. As described in a new article published October 13 in the journal Chem, the team has used a molecule that strongly binds to the nanocrystal’s surface, essentially acting like a ‘dam’ to hold back the energy stored in the charge-separated state formed after light absorption. This technique extends the lifetime of the charge separation ...

Hidden toxins in e-cigarette fluids may harm lung cells

2025-10-23

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A study by University of California, Riverside, scientists has found that two toxic chemicals can form when the main ingredient in most e-cigarette fluids is heated, and that these compounds can harm human lung cells. The researchers characterized the toxicity of methylglyoxal and acetaldehyde, both known toxins that can be generated during the heating of vaping liquids containing propylene glycol. While these chemicals are already recognized as harmful in other settings, their impact during vaping has not been well understood until now. Using lab-grown human airway ...

Ancient Mediterranean origin of the “London Underground Mosquito”

2025-10-23

A new genetic study overturns the myth of the “London Underground Mosquito,” revealing that this common urban insect originated not below the cities of modern Europe, but in ancient Mediterranean civilizations more than a thousand years ago, according to a new study. Modern cities are reshaping ecosystems, driving rapid adaptation in many species. A striking example is the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, which exists in two forms: the bird-biting C. pipiens f. pipiens (pipiens), adapted to open-air, seasonal environments, and the human-biting C. pipiens f. molestus ...

Functional extinction of Florida’s reef-building corals following the 2023 marine heatwave

2025-10-23

The record-breaking 2023 marine heatwave has killed nearly all of Florida’s critically endangered Acropora coral colonies, marking the species’ functional extinction in Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR), researchers report. The findings sound a dire warning for the future of coral ecosystems in our rapidly warming oceans. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climate events, such as marine heat waves, are severely undermining the health, structure, and resilience of ecosystems worldwide. Coral reefs, among the most heat-sensitive marine environments, ...

Duck-billed dinosaur “mummies” preserve fleshy hide and hooves in thin layers of clay

2025-10-23

New paleontological findings offer insights into Wyoming’s “dinosaur mummies,” revealing that the stunningly preserved skin, spikes, and hooves of duck-billed dinosaurs are not fossilized flesh at all, but delicate clay molds formed by microbes as the creatures decayed, researchers report. Soft-tissue preservation in fossils usually occurs in fine-grained, oxygen-poor environments such as lagoons or seabeds, which enable the fossilization of delicate structures like feathers and skin. However, the so-called “dinosaur ...

Fatty winter snacks may trick the body into packing on the pounds

2025-10-23

Fatty Winter Snacks May Trick the Body into Packing on the Pounds A new study from UC San Francisco shows that our natural eating patterns are more closely tied to seasonal rhythms than previously thought. Next time you’re tempted to raid the pantry for snacks loaded with saturated fat — especially in winter — you might want to consider that the result could be a mounting urge for high-calorie nibbles. That’s because, from our body’s perspective, saturated fat — which ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

How rice plants tell head from toe during early growth

Scientists design solar-responsive biochar that accelerates environmental cleanup

Construction of a localized immune niche via supramolecular hydrogel vaccine to elicit durable and enhanced immunity against infectious diseases

Deep learning-based discovery of tetrahydrocarbazoles as broad-spectrum antitumor agents and click-activated strategy for targeted cancer therapy

DHL-11, a novel prieurianin-type limonoid isolated from Munronia henryi, targeting IMPDH2 to inhibit triple-negative breast cancer

Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitors and RIPK1 inhibitors with synergistic antiviral efficacy in a mouse COVID-19 model

Neg-entropy is the true drug target for chronic diseases

Oxygen-boosted dual-section microneedle patch for enhanced drug penetration and improved photodynamic and anti-inflammatory therapy in psoriasis

Around the world, children’s cooperative behaviors and norms converge toward community-specific norms in middle childhood, Boston College researchers report