Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a district general hospital: increased success over 7 years.

In a 12-month prospective survey of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), 32 out of 192 patients (16.6%) survived to go home. This is a clear improvement compared with 7 years previously. This is attributed to better training in the use and management of CPR and more widespread availability of defibrillators. Certain patients could not be resuscitated--those with electromechanical dissociation, carcinoma, or multiple pathology. Age by itself was not a bar to resuscitation. There is still a high rate of inappropriate calls, often because of uncertainty by nurses about the use of CPR. This could be improved with clearer guidelines in hospitals about the value of CPR in selected patients.