Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and post-resuscitation care

Survival and subsequent good neurological outcome following cardiac arrest depends on prompt diagnosis, good-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with minimal interruptions and rapid defibrillation, if appropriate. In the post-resuscitation phase, diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause for the arrest with avoidance of hypotension, hyperthermia, hyperoxia, hyper/hypoglycaemia and management of seizure activity confers the best chances of a successful outcome. Early prognostication of survivors is difficult and should be done by experts using a variety of proven modalities.