PALS

Medical abbreviation · Emergency Medicine

PALS
Stands forPediatric Advanced Life Support
CategoriesMedical

PALS stands for Pediatric Advanced Life Support, an emergency medicine abbreviation.

American Heart Association course and algorithms for recognizing and treating respiratory failure, shock and cardiopulmonary arrest in infants and children. It emphasizes early recognition before arrest.

Example: PALS tachycardia algorithm: adenosine 0.1 mg/kg rapid IV push for SVT.

Usage notes

Developed with the American Academy of Pediatrics and introduced in the late 1980s. Weight-based dosing aids such as length-based tapes are used in pediatric resuscitation. Pediatric arrests are more often caused by respiratory failure than heart rhythm problems.

More emergency medicine abbreviations

  • NOI – Nature of illness
  • NPA – Nasopharyngeal airway
  • NRP – Neonatal Resuscitation Program
  • OD – Overdose
  • OHCA – Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
  • OPA – Oropharyngeal airway
  • PASG – Pneumatic anti-shock garment
  • PAT – Pediatric assessment triangle
  • PCR – Patient care report
  • PEARS – Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization
  • PECARN – Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network
  • PEM – Pediatric emergency medicine

See all 97 emergency medicine abbreviations →

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.