Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Guidelines 2000 update: What's happened since?

Purpose of review: To examine the literature for new resuscitation science since the publication of the Guidelines 2000 for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care. Recent findings: The two and a half years since the publication of the Guidelines 2000 have seen the advent of a number of new and important resuscitation studies. Such studies highlight the importance of simplification of cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques and guidelines, including the elimination of the layperson pulse check and the need for a simple form of basic life support cardiopulmonary resuscitation that decreases interruptions of chest compressions. Automatic external defibrillators, even in the hands of nontraditional first responders, are effective and safe. A second prospective, randomized clinical trial of amiodarone for refractory ventricular fibrillation has again shown positive results in improving survival to hospital admission. Finally, mild hypothermia appears to be the first effective therapy at decreasing central nervous system injury when administered after resuscitation. Summary: In this report, we review these new studies and discuss how they corroborate or alter the published 2000 guidelines.