Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in rural community hospitals.

Carson-Tahoe Hospital is a 77-bed hospital serving a large rural area. During 22 months cardiopulmonary resuscitation was carried out 89 times in 79 persons. Of these resuscitations, 56 were done in the emergency room and 25 on inpatients. Resuscitation was successful in 46 percent of the patients at least once, and 30 percent of the patients lived and were released. These figures compare favorably with those from larger, urban centers, despite problems unique to smaller hospitals.