News from the CPR front

I couldn't help but notice when The New York Times picked up a story two weeks ago about a change in thinking about the benefits of prolonged CPR (putting "CPR" in the headline of anything pretty much guarantees I'll read it). The article detailed new research recently published in British medical journal The Lancet suggesting that patients who go into cardiac arrest while inpatients (and excluding patients in the operating room) may be viable much longer than originally thought.

I have to admit, my interest started to wane when I read that the research was only directed toward in-hospital arrests (I may someday find myself working in the hospital and/or clinic environment, but EMS was explicitly excluded from the new recommendations). Nevertheless, medicine is an extremely adaptable field, and what is found to improve patient outcomes in one setting or environment may start popping up in others.

I'll be curious to see how the American Heart Association receives the news and if they will make any changes when they issue the next set of Emergency Cardiac Care guidelines. There are a number of differences between the in-hospital and pre-hospital environments when it comes to attempting resuscitation; hospitals have more available manpower, better environmental conditions, and an easier time getting the patient optimally positioned than do EMS crews. So it's possible that these new findings may not reverberate outside hospital walls, but in any event, it's good to know that new ground is being broken in this all-important field.