[The efficiency of prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Which factors determine the outcome?].

Survival rates following cardiopulmonary resuscitation differ widely with regard to the diverse rescue systems where the investigations were performed, and also with regard to the different patient populations. From 1981 to 1986, 1037 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were investigated in the city of Bonn. It was the purpose of this study to differentiate between various patient populations and to analyze factors which are responsible for CPR success. Survival rates following CPR could be increased from 8% in 1981 to 23% in 1984. Thereafter, a relatively stable survival rate of 20.1 +/- 1.7% with an initial CPR success rate of 62.5 +/- 8.1% was observed. Patients with ventricular fibrillation showed significantly higher survival rates (33.2 +/- 2.9%) when compared to asystolic victims (11.3 +/- 1.9%). The worst results were seen in these patients where CPR was initiated following trauma (8%) or in paediatric patients (8%). Factors which significantly determine survival following CPR are: initial ECG finding, therapeutic delay with regard to bystander-initiated basic life support, as well as advanced life support by emergency physicians. In addition, well standardized therapeutical strategies are of importance with early defibrillation, rapid endotracheal intubation and swift epinephrine application mostly by endobronchial administration.