After determining a patient is unconscious and unresponsive, which should be your next step?

In an emergency involving an unconscious and unresponsive patient, the immediate response should involve checking their breathing. This is crucial because the patient may be in need of resuscitation due to a lack of respiration, which can result from various medical emergencies, such as cardiac arrest or respiratory failure. By assessing whether the patient is breathing, you can determine the appropriate next steps in their care. If the patient is not breathing, this would lead to initiating chest compressions and possibly providing rescue breaths, following the guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

While contacting emergency services is essential, it typically follows the immediate assessment of breathing. If the patient is breathing, you may then be able to monitor them until help arrives. Starting chest compressions or administering oxygen are interventions that would follow the assessment, particularly if the patient is found to be apneic or in cardiac arrest. Thus, checking for breathing should be prioritized to inform the subsequent steps in treatment.