Annals of emergency medicine
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To arrive at a consensus on the priorities for future research in emergency medical services for children. ⋯ The panel was able to develop a list of important topics for future research in emergency medical services for children that can be used by foundations, governmental agencies, and others in setting a research agenda for such services.
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Little information is available about the effects of CPR in children, although it is known that the outcomes are dismal. Examples of unanswered questions include which advanced life support (ALS) procedures should be performed out-of-hospital, whether high-dose epinephrine improves survival, and the true prevalence of ventricular fibrillation as a presenting rhythm. ⋯ Because pediatric cardiopulmonary arrest is rare, prospective data are difficult to gather, and there are few large published studies. The purpose of this collective review was to review the current body of knowledge regarding survival rates and outcomes in pediatric CPR and, based on this review, to outline a course for future research.