The nurse finds a patient lying on the bathroom floor.The patient is unresponsive and has a pulse but is not breathing.What is the nurse's first action?

A) Give two breaths using mouth-to-mouth without a barrier device.
B) Give two breaths using mouth-to-mouth without a barrier device and watch for chest movement.
C) Give two breaths using a bag-mask device.
D) Start chest compressions until an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available.

Give two breaths using mouth-to-mouth with a barrier device or a mouth-to-mask device or a bag-mask device.Watch for chest rise and fall.In a hospital setting where protected methods of artificial ventilation are available,mouth-to-mouth without a barrier device is not recommended because of the risk for microbial contamination.Watch for chest rise and fall.Motion,by itself,could be caused by fasciculation and is not indicative of air moving into and out of the chest.