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(Circulation. 2005;112:III-25 – III-54.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Section 1

Part 4: Advanced Life Support

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
The topics reviewed by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) Advanced Life Support Task Force are grouped as follows: (1) causes and prevention, (2) airway and ventilation, (3) drugs and fluids given during cardiac arrest, (4) techniques and devices to monitor and assist the circulation, (5) periarrest arrhythmias, (6) cardiac arrest in special circumstances, (7) postresuscitation care, and (8) prognostication. Defibrillation topics are discussed in Part 3.

The most important developments in advanced life support (ALS) since the last ILCOR review in 2000 include

• The emergence of medical emergency teams (METs) as a means of preventing in-hospital cardiac arrest
  
• Additional clinical data on the use of vasopressin in cardiac arrest
  
• Several new devices to assist circulation during CPR
  
• The use of therapeutic hypothermia to improve neurologic outcome after ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest
  
• The potential importance of glucose control after cardiac arrest
  

For many topics there were insufficient data with which to make firm treatment recommendations. The following interventions in particular need further research:

• The impact of METs on the incidence of cardiac arrest
  
• Outcome data to define the most appropriate advanced airway adjunct
  
• Evidence to identify the most effective vasopressor or if any vasopressor is better than placebo for cardiac arrest
  
• Randomized controlled trials on several new devices to assist circulation during CPR
  
• Randomized controlled trial data on several postresuscitation care therapies, such as control of ventilation, sedation, and glucose
  
• The precise role of, and method for implementing, therapeutic hypothermia: patient selection, external versus internal cooling, optimum target . . . [Full Text of this Article]