In this thematic series for Critical Care, the focus is on important recent developments and state-of-the art practice in the field of cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrest is a major public health problem. Many thousands of people have a cardiac arrest each year worldwide, many of whom will be admitted to the ICU, where urgent and appropriate treatment is essential to their survival. Mortality rates remain high, however, and keeping up-to-date with the very latest clinical practice evidence is crucial for the ICU physician to ensure optimum patient management.
In this themed series we will feature four invited articles on cardiac arrest, One review presents the current evidence related to vasopressor use, notably epinephrine and vasopressin, in cardiac arrest resuscitation. The role of mechanical ventilation and optimal ventilatory settings are covered in another of our reviews, which highlights the importance of a personalized approach. The potential benefits of temperature control on cardiac arrest outcomes have been much studied over the last 20 years and this remains an area of hot debate. The current understanding of the role of temperature management in cardiac arrest is discussed in detail in another article, with results from recent randomized controlled studies. Finally, although the majority of the cardiac arrest literature has focused on out-of-hospital events, large cardiac arrest registries are now providing valuable epidemiological and outcome data for in-hospital cardiac arrest and the impact of various therapeutic approaches in these patients. Some of the results are summarized in one of the invited articles in this series.
Unsolicited submissions are welcome.
