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Outcomes after cardiac arrest in childhood

Posted on 24 June 2015

Resuscitation is often attempted, but at what point, and under what circumstances do continued attempts to re-establish circulation become futile? Bob Phillips, Senior Clinical Academic at CRD, and colleagues undertook a systematic review to try and dispel the uncertainty around these questions.

A meta-analysis for survival found that in-hospital patients have a better chance of survival following cardiopulmonary arrest than out-of-hospital arrests. Better neurological outcome was also seen, but data were too scarce for meta-analysis.

Dr Phillips said "The limitations of the evidence found has highlighted the need to collect potentially predictive data on these rare events so we can understand more clearly the predictors of survival and long-term neurological outcome. We are already planning the next phase of research in this area."