Mouth-to-Mouth Versus Manual Artificial Respiration for Children and Adults

In the field of manual artificial respiration, a general crystallization of ideas occurred several years ago as a result of extensive research on adult human subjects.¹This led to acceptance of "push-pull" manual resuscitation methods on a national basis. The results of these investigations were also applied to infants and small children although comparable specific data were not available for these age groups. Many manual methods have been proposed for children, but there has never been a controlled, comparative study of their efficiency. In October, 1955, a technique for resuscitation of infants and small children by means of manual tilting on the forearm of the rescuer was recommended by Rickard.²In essence, he utilized the principle of the Eve rocking method.³An important addition was use of the rescuer's finger in the victim's mouth to provide a "continuous digital airway." This interesting suggestion was not supported by