WHY OUTCOME OF CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION IN GENERAL WARDS IS POOR

A survey of cardiopulmonary resuscitations (CPR) done in a large general hospital over a 6 month period gave the result previously obtained by other workers-namely, that the long-term survival rate of patients receiving CPR in general wards is poor. The reason is that a high proportion of the patients undergoing CPR have a very poor prognosis to begin with. Those who do respond to CPR usually die fairly soon afterwards, while still in intensive care and having used up much of the hospital's resources. The suitability of patients for CPR should be considered and a decision should be made beforehand as to whether CPR is to be instituted when a cardiorespiratory arrest occurs.